A Change of Fate
by ShadowTrooper1414
Summary: Two weeks after the end of the Holy War, Allen Walker is deaged to a ten year old and transported to another dimension without her memories. She's picked up off the streets by a certain Shiro Fujimoto and taken in. What will this unheard of change of events hold for our white haired heroine?
1. Prologue

**Title:** A Change of Fate

 **Author:** ShadowTrooper1414/FireFox9995

 **Rating:** T

 **Pairings:** None

 **Summary:** Two weeks after the end of the Holy War, Allen Walker is de-aged to a ten year old and transported to another dimension without her memories. She's picked up off the streets by a certain Shiro Fujimoto and taken in. What will this unheard of change of events hold for our white haired hero?

 **Warnings/Notes:** Probably cussing(because Rin), AU, Neah, unlikely circumstances

 **Disclaimer:** I own neither DGM or Blue Exorcist. I'm just writing this for your entertainment, and my own.

* * *

A white haired girl opened her eyes to see an a blur of brown. It focused into a ceiling a few moments later. She moved his eyes slightly to the left, mind groggy and unable to remember much. Above her, she saw a head of light gray hair and red eyes hidden behind orange-tinted glasses. He was probably younger than he looked, his late thirties at the most.

"Mng…" the girl let out. "What happened...?"

"You're awake, huh?" the man asked, a soft smile taking over his face. "I'm Shiro Fujimoto. I found you on the side of the street, covering with bruises, scrapes, and cuts. What's your name?"

"I… can't seem to remember." the white haired girl murmured.

"Well, a little sleep might help that." Shiro responded, standing. "Sweet dreams, little one."

The girl felt her bangs be brushed to the side before the man walked away, the floorboards creaking under his booted feet. The sound of a door opening and being closed sounded before the young female closed her eyes to fall into the grasp of sleep once again.

* * *

"What's wrong?" a young male's voice sounded.

"Who's there?" the girl asked.

"My, my, Allen." the voice again. "It's seems silly that you'd forget, even after we achieved peace together."

"Who are you?" the white-haired girl - Allen? - demanded.

"Ah, how rude of me." A form faded into existence from shadows. It was a young boy with dark gray, brownish skin, seven black crosses across his forehead, the center one the largest and the others slowly becoming smaller. His eyes were a vibrant gold and his hair was a dark blue-purple color. He was wearing a trench-coat with a button up, dress shoes, and slacks. His left hand was in a pocket, the right one at his side. "My name's Neah - Neah Walker or Neah D. Campbell. Whichever is fine. I'm surprised you don't remember me." His face contorted into one of sadness, then one of misery as he looked down at his body. He muttered, "But why am I a kid?"

"Can you at least tell me how you know me?" Allen - she had given up and just decided that it was her name - sighed.

"Hmm… I could give you a straight answer, but you should wait until you regain your memories. You're a very intriguing girl. It's a shame you lost them in the first place." Neah replied. "But you should wake up now."

Despite wanting to ask more questions, Allen gave in and nodded. She gave Neah a small smile and put her hand out, saying, "It was nice to meet you, Neah."

Though a little shocked - and Allen could, strangely, feel the shock - Neah returned the gesture, shaking the girl's hand. Allen let go after a few seconds. She gave another smile, bigger this time, closing her eyes.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, Allen reopened her eyes. Feeling much more collected this time, she sat up, albeit slowly. A few minutes after she collected herself, the door opened.

What Allen saw gave her a slight shock, because in walked a young boy, probably around ten or eleven. He had dark blue-black hair cut shaggily and a dark blue color of eyes. He cautiously checked outside the room before closing the door and facing Allen. The dark-blue haired boy's face broke out in a grin.

"I finally get to meet him!" he was speaking Japanese, which Allen understood, surprisingly. "The sleeping boy! Name's Rin Okumura, what's yours?"

"Allen, I think." Allen murmured, fidgeting with her hands.

"Allen?" Rin asked. "What kind of name is that? Especially for a girl!"

"Hey!" Allen retorted, an irk mark on her forehead. "I happen to like the name! Besides, Rin is a girl's name."

Rin's cheeks turned pink and he looked off to the side putting his hands behind his head. "So where'd ya come from?"

"I don't know actually." the white-haired girl sighed.

"Well, I'm gonna go tell Dad that you're awake now." Rin grinned, turning and running out the door of the room. Allen scratched her own head in confusion. A few minutes later, the man from the first time Allen woke up - Shiro - walked in, Rin and another young boy behind him.

"Ah, so you are awake." Shiro chuckled, walking over to Allen.

"I told you!" Rin pouted, crossing his arms.

Shiro let out a soft laugh at his son's - Allen assumed their relationship was that of father-son, due to what Rin referred to him as - demeanor while doing a look-over of Allen's wounds and redressing them. He inspected the scar on her face, expression that of deep concentration. Shiro quickly moved on to the white haired girl's other wounds. He took the bandages off of the nasty wound on Allen's leg - which was a bullet hole of sorts - to see that it half-healed already. He seemed very shocked at such a fast recovery, storing the information away for a later time.

Shiro quickly re-wrapped the wound with fresh bandages and continued with the rest. Soon, he was done and gave Allen a smile. "Most of your wounds are completely healed, if not almost. There's only a couple of bad ones, and even those are at least half-way healed. You have remarkable recovery abilities." (Allen could almost hear suspicion in his voice, but wrote it off as a trick of exhaustion.)

"Really…?" Allen murmured, getting a feeling she'd been told that before.

"Did you remember your name?" Shiro asked.

The girl nodded. "Allen. Allen Walker, at least, I think." She deliberately stayed quiet about Neah, getting a feeling that mentioning him would get them both in some sort of trouble.

"Do you remember your birthday?" the man asked, helping Allen stand from the bed.

'December 25th, ten years ago,' came a whisper.

'Neah?' Allen thought, but replied, "December 25th and I'm ten years old."

"Two days before Rin and Yukio's, huh?" Shiro grinned. "If you stay, I guess we have three birthdays to celebrate. Rin is my oldest son, though I think you've already met, haven't you? Yukio is my youngest son."

"Nice to meet you, Allen-chan," the boy from before - Yukio - bowed.

"Ah, you don't have to do that." Allen replied nervously. "Just Allen is fine."

"Okay, then nice to meet you, Allen." Yukio said, smiling slightly - though Allen could tell it was a little forced. "I hope we can get along well."

"Me too." Allen smiled. Rin then ran over.

"Come on, Allen! I wanna show you around!" the oldest boy urged.

"Ah, alright!" Allen said, letting herself be pulled. Shiro scolded Rin for forcing Allen to run, but the dark haired boy half-ignored him, saying that they would be careful and running off the the white haired girl in tow, both giggling fiercely.

* * *

Neah let out a sigh of irritation at the few words he was able to get through to his vessel. Before this stupid dimension-hop, their communication wasn't interfered with. Neah assumed it was due to all of the demons - 'Not Akuma,' was a passing thought - in this world. He was aware of another presence in the young Walker's mind and he turned around to see a purple haired, yellow eyed, fanged man with a weird outfit.

"And you are…?" Neah asked.

"Mephisto Pheles." the man said, a smirk on his face. "You know, Noah, this white haired vessel of yours had to travel through Gehenna to get here. Satan seemed intrigued by her. It's unlikely that he'll use her as a vessel, seeing as you're already here, but she'll be an important piece in this game of chess."

"How do you know of the Noah?" Neah glared upwards, his gold eyes flashing.

"I'm not the King of Time for nothing. I've been around since the beginning of the Holy War. Sure, it was a little different from the perspective of this dimension, but I still experienced it." Mephisto's smirk became maniac. "Shall we let the games begin?"

"You're on, demon. Allen will beat you." Neah ground out.

"Ah, but I'm a simple spectator, just as you are. I wish you good luck." Mephisto said, tipping his hat in a gentlemanly manner. "With this, I bid you adieu."

At that, he disappeared in a pink cloud of smoke. Neah clenched both his jaw and un-pocketed fist.

"I will get you, Mephisto, whether you're a spectator or not."

* * *

 **So this is an idea I've had festering in my head for a while now and I decided to put it up. I might continue it if it gets enough support. If it does, I'll be posting the next chapter sometime the week of 3-5-17(hopefully). The next chapter is basically a part 2 of the prologue, just filling you in on stuff that occurs in the first few months after Allen is found. It's still being worked on. -.- Dang procrastination, but I also have other stories if you wanna check them out! One is a regular Blue Exorcist fic, one is DGM/FMA crossover, and then I have two completed DGM stories. So if you want, go check them out!**

 **Edit 2-12-17: I've changed Allen and Rin back to male because it flows with the story better.**

 **Edit 3-5-17: Allen is once again female because THAT fits better with what I have planned. Also fixed some grammar and rephrased some stuff.**


	2. Chapter 1

Shiro watched the boy and girl run off, contemplating the smooth, red arm of Allen's - starting out with a strange design that had loops and arrows up by her shoulder - that went down to her hand that had a cross of sorts on it and the scar on Allen's face that led up to a pentagram. What could it mean? Allen obviously wasn't of this world - Mephisto's theory of different dimensions seemed to be true in this case - so where did she come from? Shiro let out a sigh and rubbed his head. Maybe it would never be solved. At least Allen didn't seem to be a Demon King or Son of Satan, though her accelerated healing was certainly something other-worldly.

Shiro thought back to when he had seen Allen on the street, white haired matted with blood, staining it red, and body covered in demon-like claw marks, bruises and even a few bullet holes - larger ones, maybe 6 millimeters in diameter. Next to her was a small golden ball with a yellow cross on its face, bird-like wings, a demon-like tail, two short horns, and four stubby little legs. It had perked up once it noticed Shiro approaching. It seemed to ask the gray-haired main to help the young girl. Even though he was confused, Shiro walked over and pulled Allen into his arms. The white-haired child seemed lighter than she was supposed to be, worrying Shiro. The golden ball flew up and shuffled its way into Allen's coat, which was black and trimmed red with medals and trinkets on the front, like a military uniform, and it was way too big for the girl's lithe frame. Once Shiro got to the monastery, Rin immediately started asking questions.

 _Who is she?_

 _Where'd she come from?_

 _What's her name?_

 _How'd she get hurt?_

 _Why does she have that mark on his face?_

 _When did you find her?_

Those were some of them. Yukio had to usher Rin upstairs and into their shared bedroom while Shiro took Allen into the downstairs guest room. He noticed the slight fever the young girl had and quickly changed her out of the blood-stained coat, cleaning her hair and cuts, then treating them and dressing the girl in some of Rin's clothing - a t-shirt and some sweats - as his clothing was closer to Allen's size than Yukio's at this point.

After that was done, he had put Allen into the guest room's bed and pulled a cover over her, placing a cool, wet cloth on her forehead to bring the fever down. He had left the room to go tell Rin and Yukio to stay out, only to find them right outside the door.

"Who is she?" Rin asked - one of his questions from before.

"I'm not exactly sure," Shiro had replied. "I found her injured on the side of the road."

Yukio was quiet, probably thinking about something. Rin, however, kept asking questions that Shiro wasn't able to answer.

"Calm down, kiddo!" Shiro had chuckled. "Time for bed, the both of you."

Rin whined about having to go to bed and Yukio gave a small smile at his brother's antics.

That was four days ago. Shiro was currently thinking about the wounds he found on Allen's body. The fact that it was the middle of January wasn't any better - no wonder Allen was running a fever. Shiro let out a sigh, thinking about Allen's strange arm and scar again. They were definitely not of this world - if even from this dimension. If they _were_ from this dimension, though, they'd be from Gehenna. It was unlikely that she was a demon, but there was the chance she had demon blood. Shiro shook his head before turning to Yukio, who had been watching him.

"If it ends up Allen can see demons, I want you to tell me." Shiro told him. "It's important that you do, or else she could end up accidentally telling Rin about you-know-what."

Yukio nodded, gave a small, curt smile, then left the room. Shiro sighed again, then resigned to following his youngest son. Things were about to get much more hectic.

* * *

 _Monster!_

 _Freak!_

 _Demon!_

 _Devil's child!_

Rin was always called this, ever since daycare. It had often bugged him and he was scared that Allen would start calling him the same. Little did Rin know that Allen was called those things too - even if the white haired girl couldn't remember.

So it was a surprise that, when Allen saw Rin beating up some bullies who were picking on a younger classman, Allen didn't say anything, just walked up and separated them calmly. Granted, she did get hit a few times, but she also didn't seem bothered by it - or even hurt, though she could have been hiding that. The younger classman had run away by now and the ones in 5th grade - the bullies - had grumbled something and walked off. Rin was still pissed and he asked Allen why she had stepped in if it had just gotten her hurt.

Allen replied with a genuine smile - for once - and a shrug, saying, "If they end up having a problem with me, then I'll deal with it. If they have a problem with you, they'll have to deal with me. If I catch them bullying another underclassman, then I'll either report them or deal with them. Maybe even both"

"You don't see me as a demon?" the raven had asked.

"Never. And don't ever call yourself that either," was Allen's instant reply. She said it a bit harsher than intended, but she still got her message across. Rin had been so shocked, all he could do was nod.

* * *

The first time Allen saw the creatures - demons, Neah had informed her - was the first day she had gone to school with Rin and Yukio. This demon was small and reminded her a bit of a bat, but it didn't scare or startle her - which is surprising since it practically appeared out of nowhere. Allen felt like there was no need to be scared of it, like she had gone through, seen, and suffered much worse.

The second time Allen saw a demon was when she noticed a shadowy figure following some student around. The student seemed creeped out by it, and a little scared too.

' _ **You wanna go help him?'**_

' _How? I don't know anything about those things.'_

' _ **Tell him not to be scared or something.'**_

' _Like that's going to work.'_

But Allen went up to the student anyway. She approached during break and asked if they could talk in private; the student agreed.

"What's your name?" Allen asked.

"Hariken Shinrie." the student had replied.

"Alright, Hariken-san. You know the thing that's been following around?" Allen had said, receiving a nod in response. "If you make it obvious you can see it, then it'll only want to follow you more. I recommend calming down a little bit. If something happens, come to me and I'll see what I can do to help."

Shinrie had nodded, then the two walked back to their classroom. They ended up being late and had to face the consequences. Though, Allen was more than ready to face them, glad she had been able to help somebody.

The third time Allen saw a demon, she knew Yukio was onto her. She could tell by the way the younger boy's teal eyes darkened with suspicion. The demon was just a hobgoblin - she found out the name by doing some secret research with some of the monastery's older books - so Allen wasn't sure, at the time, why Yukio was so upset. Now she did.

Yukio ended up telling Shiro and Shiro had spilled the news about Rin being the Son of Satan. Allen couldn't say she was surprised though. Rin _had_ given off a strange aura at times that practically screamed, ' _I'm half-demon, so come after me!'_ Shiro had also told Allen about exorcists, True Cross Order, demons, the Vatican, and anything else Allen was curious about.

The only thing that confused Allen was why these things were so familiar to her. The words, at least. Order, Vatican, Exorcist, demons - though Akuma felt better. When she consulted Neah about it, all she got were vague answers like:

' _ **You'll know in time.'**_

' _ **I'll tell you later.'**_

' _ **You don't need to know.'**_

' _ **That's in the past now. This is the present.'**_

Honestly, it drove Allen insane, but she supposed it would have to wait. She had enough mysteries right now as it is.

* * *

When Rin came in contact with Allen's Innocence - Neah had told her what _that_ was at least - arm, not much happened. Both parties felt a wave of heat - not unbearable, but not exactly cool either. It was comforting in a way.

The second time was two years later, when they were both twelve. Allen, who had recently been able to move her arm, as it was paralyzed before, had grabbed Rin by the shoulder to tell him to wait for her so they could talk about Rin's grades - Allen wanted to tutor him so that Rin wouldn't fail seventh grade. When contact was made, blue flames flared up around the green cross on Allen's hand. The flames weren't hot - more warm than anything else.

Rin seemed to not have noticed, simply turning around to confront the older-by-two-days girl, angrily at first then calming down and smiling when he saw who it was. He noticed Allen's slightly shocked face and asked what was wrong, but the white-haired preteen waved him off and told him about the lessons for tutoring him. He agreed to it.

Allen contemplated what had happened, but ended up storing it away - giving the memory to Neah as a barrier of sorts - to analyze later. Maybe she'd ask Shiro or Yukio.

The third and final time was after Allen had been able to activate, but that's after present time. Perhaps I should fill you in on some other stuff first. Don't worry, it won't take long. But we should start at the beginning.

When Rin became a half-demon and found out he was the Son of Satan.

* * *

 **And scene! You guys enjoying this so far?(answer in a review dudes!) Good! I'm glad I came up with the idea. So this story was basically just a rundown on some more of the more important stuff. Oh yeah, and then the time Allen accidentally met a Demon King mistaking her for one of them because of her Innocence, white hair, and curse.  
** **I changed Allen back to female in the prologue, so have fun with that!**

 **And that should be it! Ciao for now!**


	3. Chapter 2

Allen looked out the window as she prepared breakfast. Rin had left late last night, accidentally waking her in the process. She promised not to tell Shiro and Rin had said he owed her one.

It was currently 7:30 AM, and the sun was just now rising. The sunrise was really pretty, but so was the sunset. Something about it made Allen feel warm inside, but also empty, like she was missing some one. A coal-tar flew past her face, and she mentally reminded herself to tell one of the priests or Yukio to strengthen the barriers around the monastery.

The smell of bacon pulled her attention to where she was cooking said food on the stove. Allen quickly removed the frying pan, stirring the eggs and removing them, too, and put all of it on two large, separate plates. She then got the grilled fish onto another serving plate, put rice into ten small bowls, put miso soup into another ten, identical bowls, and then a few side dishes on large serving plates.

"Izumi, Nagatomo, come help me set the table!" Allen called.

"Yes, ma'am!" the priests called back, entering the kitchen and grabbing some of the dishes, while Allen balanced all of the bowls on her arms.

' _How do I have so much balance? Like, it's been here as long as I can remember.'_

' _ **Granted, you've only can remember the past five years.'**_

' _True… But there must be something before that. Hmm…'_

' _ **That's not important though, right? What's important is what's happening right now.'**_

In her head, Allen glared at Neah suspiciously. He always tried to dissuade her when she brought up the past - and it usually worked.

The white haired girl let out a mental sigh as she placed the dishes on the table. Then she turned to Kyodo. "Is Rin back yet?"

"Nope." Kyodo replied. "There something you want with him?"

"Not really, just worried." Allen said. "I'm gonna go look for him. Be back soon."

"Right. Be careful out there! You never know what kind of creeps are out there!" Maruta shouted from the other room.

"You mean like you?" Allen replied as she put her shoes on, laughing. She heard the sound of choking, then opened the door, calling, "See ya later!" over her shoulder before exiting the building and closing the door.

Allen started jogging - she needed her morning jog, so she would have gone out anyway - and started looking for her little brother.

* * *

"...What am I playing at?"

That was what Allen heard when she found herself at a nearby park. Rin had said is and Allen called out to him as she neared. The raven turned and smiled softly at seeing her.

"Hey, Allen." Rin said.

"Hi, Rin. Or rather, good morning. Did you sleep at all?" Allen asked with concern lacing her tone. Then she saw the blood running down from Rin's nose, and the scrapes on his knuckles. "Rin, did you get into a fight again?"

Rin sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… But they were killing pigeons that didn't do anything to them!"

Allen sighed, crossing her arms irritably. "Shiro isn't gonna be happy."

"I know, but it was their fault." Rin explained.

"It was their fault, I know, but use your head more often. I know you have a brain in there." Allen said.

"Doesn't stop me from being stupid. Or an idiot..." Rin grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"You are not stupid!" Allen exclaimed, hands now in fists at her sides. "And you're definitely not an idiot! Now let's go. I made breakfast."

"Alright, Allen. Let's get to the monastery." Rin replied, smiling again and putting an arm around Allen's shoulders. She also smiled as the two walked home.

* * *

And now Rin was getting a lecture from Shiro - that he had gotten from Allen not even thirty minutes before. Well, at first it was the same...

"Pass this to Rin." Shiro said to Maruta, a monk from the church. The slip of paper was pass down the table to the other side where Rin was seated next to Allen. Rin looked down at it.

"What is this?" he asked, Allen looking at it over his shoulder.

"A friend of mine at a traditional restaurant is looking for a new hand to work in the shop. How about it?" Shiro informed. "If you feel like going for it, the interview is later today."

"A restaraunt, me?" Rin asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's just crazy!"

"What's so crazy about it?" Shiro smirked. "Cooking is one of your strong points, so that's perfect for you!"

"I can't…" Rin trailed off before licking his lips and continuing. "I can't hold a respective job like that! I know myself _that_ well…"

"Foolish child!" Shiro yelled. "You think, that with your utter lack of qualifications, you can just sit around picking and choosing?! As your legal guardian, I have the responsibility to raise you into proper adults - yes, you too Allen! Do you really understand that?! You can't stay here forever! Someday, you'll have to make it out there on your own!"

"I'm not stupid… I know that!" Rin shouted.

"Shut up, the both of you!" Allen practically shrieked, standing abruptly and slapping her hands onto the table at the same time the stove warming the soup exploded with blue fire and toppled over. The monks stared alternately at Allen, Rin, and the now-exploded stove.

"The stove… it just exploded." Nagatomo said.

"I'll get it cleaned up." Kyodo sighed, standing, along with Izumi.

The white-haired girl let out a sigh, leaning away from the table, but not sitting down. "Honestly, the both of you act like children sometimes."

"Which one do you think did it?" one monk whispered and it took everything within Allen not to slap them.

"I don't know… Black Allen seems to have made an appearance, but Rin's more likely to have done it, because… you-know," another monk said, just as quiet. The whispers continued until Allen glared at them, prompted them to stop out of fear.

"Father Fujimoto." A different monk walked into the room. He bent down to whisper in his ear. "There's someone here for you."

"I see." Shiro responded, then started to leave before turning to Yukio. "Yukio, treat Rin's injuries. Allen, go with them."

* * *

"Tch. Stupid old man." Rin grumbled.

"Now, now," Yukio responded.

"He only does it because he cares, Rin." Allen smiled, sitting beside Rin and ruffling his hair.

"Yeah right…" Rin pouted, before brightening up a bit. "Hey, Yukio, when are you starting high school?"

"Soon." Yukio responded distractedly.

"That's not much of an answer, Yukio." Allen deadpanned. She then looked at the ceiling. "True Cross, huh? I heard their principal is weird."

"Yeah, but it's also a school for the elite, right?" Rin said, looking to Allen, then back to Yukio with a shit-eating grin. "You must be awesome, Yukio. Makes me proud to be your twin brother!"

"Yeah, Yukio. To have a little brother as awesome as you, and then one as cool as Rin… I wonder what I did to deserve you two." Allen added.

' _ **You didn't do anything. You were just gifted.'**_

' _I don't need your cryptic bullshit, Neah.'_

' _ **So harsh, and to your uncle too!'**_

' _Uncle?'_

' _ **Oops, sorry. Did I forget that you're technically my niece. Adoptive, but still. It was before you lost your memory.'**_

' _Ah, I see… And yes, you did. Neah, when will you tell me what it was like before Shiro found me?'_

' _ **In due time, Allen.'**_

' _You always say that!'_

A chuckle. ' _ **And I always will.'**_

With that, Allen cut the connection off - or rather, started ignoring Neah - and turned her attention back to the Okumura twins. Strangely, when she had conversations with Neah, time seems to stand still.

Yukio chuckled. "I'm just working as hard as I can because I want to become a doctor, that's all."

 _You already are one,_ Allen thought, a little sour, and Neah made a sarcastic comment about Rin not knowing that.

"And I know you can do it!" Rin exclaimed, ignorant to Allen's thoughts.

"I'll do my best, for the both of you." Yukio smiled softly, a genuine one this time.

"You're great at all this first-aid stuff." Rin grinned.

"Only because you're always getting into fights." Yukio sweatdropped, adjusting his glasses. "And Allen-neesan isn't much better."

"Well, sor-ree!" Allen muttered, crossing her arms.

Rin didn't seem to have heard Yukio's after-statement, nor Allen's muttered one. "Yeah, I'm as much of a screw up as you are a success."

"That's not true, Rin! How many times must I tell you?" Allen groaned.

Yukio sighed. "Rin, Allen, what are you going to do with your lives?"

"Me?" Allen asked, surprised. She then started tapping her chin with a finger, in a thinking pose. "I never really thought about it very hard. I suppose whatever happens, happens! I was thinking about joining a circus, but with my weird arm, I doubt they would allow me in. Or maybe become a priestess and take over the monastery for Shiro."

Allen didn't mean to say that she wanted to join a circus, it just slipped out. _Where did that come from?_

"A circus, really?" Yukio raised an eyebrow, while Rin seemed really excited. Yukio continued, "Though, running the monastery could be good for you."

Rin then crossed his arms and looked upward in thought. "I haven't really thought about it either."

"I worry about you two, and so does Tou-san." Yukio said, looking at his older siblings.

"I know it may not seem like it, but I'm serious about my future too, despite how dark it seems right now." Rin said, looking at his bandaged hand. "I wanna become a respectable adult, I really do! But I just can't… find the chance…"

"This is just an idea I'm throwing out there," Yukio started. "But have you considered going to that interview?"

"It's not that big of a deal, Yukio." Rin said.

"Ah, there you are!" Kyodo exclaimed. "You've got an interview, right?" He tossed a box at Rin, who reaches up to catch it. "It's a suit! You wanna make a good impression, right?"

"Isn't a suit a little flashy for a traditional restaurant?" Allen asked.

"Well, better fancier than needed instead of too casual you don't get the job." Yukio said.

"Hey, I haven't said I'm going yet…" Rin said softly.

"If you get the job, we'll celebrate with sukiyaki, alright?" Nagatomo compromised.

"Meat?!" Rin exclaimed happily. "I'm in!"

 _He'd do it for meat?_ the raven's siblings think to themselves, exchanging a deadpan look.

* * *

"AAAGH!" Rin exclaimed, the tie wrapped around his face. "What's with this thing?! How's it supposed to turn into that?! It's a demon, I tell you, a demon!"

Allen laughed, hiding her smile behind her hand. "I dunno, it kind of fits you."

Rin glared at her lightly, before just sighing and getting it off of his head. "Forget it, there's no time. I'll just go for smart-casual."

He closed the door behind him, and Allen pushed herself off of the wall. She walked over to Rin and ruffled his hair. He pouted up at her hand, but didn't push it off.

The white-haired girl saw that as an opportunity to talk to him for a moment. "I'm proud of you, little brother, despite what happens today." She used the word 'today' as a general term. "And I'm always your big sister, no matter what my last name is, no matter what occurs, no matter whether you end up not getting the job. You got that? I'll always love you."

She gave him a smile and removed her hand from his head. After a moment, Rin smiled back and said, "Thanks, Nee-san. I know I can rely on you."

Allen chuckled lightly, then turned around and started walking. "You don't want to be late, do you?"

"Crap! You're right!" Rin runs to catch up to her before something near the ground on the wall, seemingly slipping through the cracks, catches his eye. "Huh?"

Allen panics for a slim second, thoughts racing through her head, but she hears talking outside and she lets out a silent breath of relief as Rin's head snaps up. She can't help but listen in too.

"Thank you, father," the man outside says.

"No problem, nothing to worry yourself about. Here, take this." Shiro replied, crouching to give the girl he was talking to there something. "It's a four-leaved clover charm. Keep it with you at all times, it should help to ward away demons."

He rubbed the girl's heady lightly. "You're lucky, ya know? Having a mother and father to look after you. If things get tough, you can go to them for help. And when that isn't enough, I'm here to step in."

A smile on his face, Shiro stands as they thank him and start walking away. "Sleep well, eat well, and play well~!" After a moment, he stops waving and lowers his hand, the smile fading slightly, but remaining. "Ahh, being an exorcist is tough."

Allen and Rin exit the building and start approaching Shiro. Rin starts talking to Shiro, Shiro ties his tie, the two bicker a little bit, then Rin starts yelling.

While this exchange is happening, Allen goes deep into thought, a hand on her chin and head tilted towards the sky, though her eyes were closed. _Was Rin able to see that bit of miasma on the floor? If that's happening, could the seal be at it's breaking point. When I checked it last week, it was fine, but the magic signature was extremely faded. It's possible that - Mephisto, was his name? Anyway, it's possible that he did it on purpose, but it's also possible that his magic was simply to weak. I need to do-_

"Allen!" Shiro's voice broke her away from her thoughts. "Aren't you going with him?"

Said girl looked up at her adoptive father and shook her head, then she watched Rin walk away, muttering to himself. "No, I was just helping him figure out how to put the suit on."

"That's right, you always wore suits, not dresses." Shiro said, crushing the coal-tar next to him. "Why is that, by the way? You're fine with female school uniforms, but never dresses."

"The uniforms are mandatory, Shiro." Allen said. "Besides, I always changed into some pants when I got home."

"If you cross-dress, you wouldn't have that problem." Shiro replied, now releasing the smoke of the coal-tar. "And you can call me dad you know. Or Tou-san."

"But it feels normal to call you your name." Allen asked. "And I'm not going to cross-dress without reason. A _valid_ reason."

"Fine, whatever." Shiro pouted, then grinned after a moment. "My little girl is growing up. Sheesh first Rin, now you. Where'd all the time go?"

"Shiro, I've only known you for five, almost six, years, four since you technically adopted me." she said, then seemed to remember something. "By the way, you might want to strengthen the barriers. It's just a hunch, but I have a feeling something bad is coming. And the seal is weakening, the magic at least."

"You can sense magic?" Shiro asked, shocked.

"Yeah, though only recently." Allen said, and at that point, something akin to an electric shock shot through her body. "Rin's in trouble. Don't ask me how I know, just trust me!"

"I do." Shiro said as both he and Allen started running, towards Southern Cross Street. "You always had a knack for knowing when Rin was in trouble."

Allen only nodded.

' _ **Do you even have a plan?!'**_

' _Of course not! Exorcists never have a plan!'_

A feeling of panic. ' _ **What do you mean by that?'**_

Allen ignored that statement. _I just hope I get there in time…_

 _ **You will, Allen,**_ Neah thinks, unbenounced to Allen. _**You're always in time.**_

* * *

When Allen and Shiro got to where Rin was, the last thing they expected was to find a white-haired-demon-possessed guy trying to get Rin to go to Gehenna with him. Rin seemed genuinely confused.

"Evil dwells within his heart." Shiro began chanting, slowly walking forward. "O Lord, let each be judged according to his deeds. Let sinful conduct beget retribution. Let each pay for that which he has taken. Bring down thy justice upon them."

"W-what?" Rin stammared.

"Y-you!" the demon exclaimed.

"Smite them that they shall never rise again." Shiro continued.

"An Exorcist!" the demon cried.

"Blessed by the Lord!" Shiro finished. "Allen, grab Rin and run!"

"Got it." Allen said, then ran over to Rin, grabbed his wrist, completely disregarding that it was her special arm, and sped out of the ally. She heard a cry of, "I'll tear that mouth off your face, you accursed priest!" from the demon, followed a few moments later by, "Perish where you stand!" from Shiro, then a scream of pain from the demon.

 _He's gotten it, but I still have to get Rin to the monastery,_ Allen thought.

"Allen! What's going on?! Who- no, _what_ was that guy?! Is he going to be okay?! Why did blue flames explode from my body when he hurt me?!" Rin asked quickly.

"Rin, there are some things that Shiro has to explain to you," Allen started. "But, I can explain some of it. You have a power, one that can't be contained. At least, not any more. That guy was possessed by a demon, and he's going to be just fine. Shiro exorcised the demon from his body. However, unless he changes something about his demeanor, it's possible he can be possess again."

"D-demon?" Rin asked, sounding slightly scared. "I thought they weren't real!"

"So you can see them now?" Allen responded, gesturing to a coal-tar that a really close to her face.

"These are demons?!" Rin exclaimed, looking at another coal-tar.

"Yes." Allen nodded, and she opened the back door of an abandoned building with her free hand, then entered the structure, pulling Rin inside behind her. " _This_ world consists of two separate dimensions that are joined together and act like a mirror. The world we live in is Assiah, and the demon world is Gehenna.

"Normally, travel - and contact - between the two worlds is near impossible," the white haired girl continued, making her way up the stairs. "But demons can enter Assiah by possessing anything within it. Those things," she gestures to a bundle of coal-tars trying to keep their distance from her. "They are called coal-tars. They possess dust particles. They gather where there is darkness or dampness, and sometimes around people with a dark nature.

"But that's beside the point. You'll come to understand. Through the door." Allen said, opening a door and pushing Rin through it, the white-haired girl following. They were now on the roof. "We have to get you to the monastery, get you hidden. Both demons and humans have learned of your awakening and they'll want to come after you for several reasons."

"Wait just a second!" Rin exclaimed and Allen walked over to the edge of the building. She started calculated the distance it was between their current building and the one next to it. "Hide me, what are you talking about?! What am I?!"

Allen looked back at him, a sad expression on her face. "The son of a demon. Birthed by a human, conceived by a demon. And the king of demons, at that. You are the Son of Satan." She looks away again.

 _Innocence… Can you help me? I need your help._ A soft hum of appreciation. _Alright. What do I say?_ Another soft hum. _Innocence activate? Well okay._

"Innocence, activate! Crowned Clown!" she called raising her hand to the sky. _Memories hit her, ones of happy times, ones of sad times, some of anger._ _Kanda, Lavi, Lenalee, Tyki, so many other names - faces to match. Akuma, Noah, The Earl, Mana, growing up on the streets, being taken in by a circus and treated like trash, and so many other things that Allen couldn't describe._

 _And something else. A period of moving through a really hot and muggy place, full of demons, a few stray Akuma too. Allen being attacked there, defending herself from those creatures, before getting hit with magic and de-aging eight years. Gehenna._

Suddenly, her fingers became elongated claws(Original DGM, not Hallow), and a cloak wrapped around her. She turned to face Rin. His expression was one of disbelief. Allen offered her non-Innocence hand to him. "Do you trust me?"

A few moments of silence before Rin takes her hand and nods. "Yes."

* * *

Allen deactivated her Innocence before entering the monastery. Timcampy flew over and settled on her head, hiding himself in her hair.

"Shiro!" Allen called. "I have him! Are you ready?!"

"Yes!" Shiro replied, then entered the room, a bag and sword sleeve in his hands. He shoved them to Rin. "The bag contains clothes, a blanket, and toiletries. The sword sleeve is Kurikara. The sword is what contains your power. Once it is drawn, you will turn to your demon form, and never be able to be human again, so never draw it! Keep it by your side, but you don't ever draw it. When you need to hide it, use this Key of Vanishment, which can be used to hide anything in any given location.

"Once you leave the monastery with Allen, you need to call the only number stored in this phone." Shiro continued. "It is the number of a friend of mine. I doubt you will be able to live as you have until now, but my friend and Allen both, will protect you. Now go, the both of you!"

"S-screw that!" Rin shouted, throwing the stuff on the floor and making Allen jump reflexively and Timcampy leapt off her head, burrowing into her clothes.

"Rin!" Shiro exclaimed.

"What's going on all of a sudden?! Demons, really? This has to be some kind of joke!" Rin said, backing away from both Shiro and Allen. "Your arm transformed too! Are you really going that far to play a prank or something?!"

"Rin… That's not-" Allen started, only to be cut off..

"No!" Rin said. "W-what about Yukio?"

"You're fraternal twins." Shiro told him. "As a fetus, Yukio was weak and the power rejected him. You're the only one who got the power."

"B-but that's just… How is it… Why didn't you tell me?!" Rin exclaimed, a hurt expression on his face.

"I wanted to raise you as a human as long as you remained to be human." Shiro sighed.

"What about the interview?!" Rin yelled. "You tell me I need a job, but the moment I stop being 'human,' you just send me off to wherever!"

"That's not it!" Shiro shouted back. "This is for your protection!"

Allen looked between her father and brother, not really sure how to help. Maybe she should do what Lenalee did when the white-haired girl and Kanda got into a fight? No, that wouldn't work.

"Protection?! You're just trying to get rid of me!" Rin countered. "Don't give me that crap! After all, I'm just some random kid. I'm not like Yukio or Allen, I cause nothing but trouble, I've been a burden to you my whole life… You don't want to act like my father anymore, do you?! Just admit it!

"I don't want you acting like my father ever again!"

The sound of a hand on skin. Shiro had slapped Rin. Allen stood there, shocked.

"We have no time for petty arguments." Shiro said, voice stern. "Just do as you're told!"

Rin stood there for a few seconds in silence before responding, "Fine." He picked of the stuff he had thrown on the floor earlier, then turned towards Allen.

Shiro let out a grunt of pain and fell to his knees, clutching at his chest with one hand. Allen let out a startled noise while Rin asked what was wrong.

"No… to think that I…" Shiro muttered.

"Seriously, what is it?" Rin asked, and Allen took his hand.

"Go!" Shiro told them.

"I think we should listen, Rin!" Allen said, panic filling her voice.

"Listen to your sister! Go, quickly! Get away!" Shiro yelled at them.

"Hey!" Rin exclaimed, pulling his hand from Allen's grip. "Get a hold of your… self..."

Shiro looked up, his eyes now that of a demon's. "Son… of mine… how I've waited for this moment!"

Allen grabbed Rin before the now-possessed Shiro could, and pulled him behind her - despite him being taller than she was - as the demon started to laugh.

"Just kidding!" the demon shouted between laughs - maniacal laughs. "Hey there son! Doin' good? And that Walker girl too! How you two been? That's right, the man himself has come to see his little boy and the special girl! So look happy about it!"

Allen glared up at him while Rin had an expression of fear. "Satan… God - no, _King_ of Demons, Rin and Yukio's biological father. Their sperm donor, if you would."

"Aww, what's with those looks?" then the demon laughed. "Well, then. This meeting-reunion was touching, but I don't think this guy's body is going to last long." It continued to laugh as Shiro's hand dripped blood from the nails.

Allen slowly backed away to the pews of the church area of the monastery, pushing Rin back. Satan approached, then threw Allen across the room, and she crashed into the wall, breaking it. She half-lost consciousness, barely processing a guttural sound, like a demonic language, and Rin's cry of fear. Not being able to hear when Satan starts talking.

Black spots shrouded her vision. Then she lost consciousness.

* * *

When Allen came to, she was lying in a hospital bed. She looked over and saw Shiro in a bed next to hers.

' _Neah, what happened?!'_

' _ **Satan tried to take Rin into Gahenna, Shiro re-took control of his body then attempted to kill himself to save Rin, I stepped in after this, finished destroying the gate that Rin failed to completely destroy before, then healed Shiro by putting some of my Noah blood into his bloodstream. Don't worry, it's safe because as soon as he's healed, his body will consider my blood an enemy and destroy it.'**_

' _Is everybody alright?'_

' _ **Rin's recovering from mental trauma and is now a fully-fledged demon, you're in the hospital due to a concussion, Yukio**_ **just** _ **found out, and Shiro almost died. But, yes everyone's fine.'**_

' _Thank goodness.'_

Allen closed her eyes and sleep quickly overtook her.

* * *

 **That was SO LONG and took me FOREVER! But I hope you guys liked it! Sorry it took as long as it did. Life got in the way.**

 **But if you have any questions, comment, or concerns, please leave them in a review and I will see all of you, in the next chapter. Peace~!**


	4. Chapter 3

"Finally out of the hospital!" Allen exclaimed, stretching her arms as she exited said building. "You really don't mind picking me up, Yukio?"

"Not at all," he smiled - fakely.

"Stop doing that," Allen sighed. "That… fake-smile-thing. It pisses me off."

"Besides getting you from the hospital, there's the whole thing about going to True Cross," Yukio said, ignoring Allen's previous statement. "Are you going to be attending?"

"Yeah, sure. The monks will take care of the monastery while I attend both True Cross and cram school," the white-haired girl replied. "After I become an exorcist, I might take over the monastery for Shiro, let him do all of his paladin things."

Yukio put a gentle hand on her head. "Thanks for being with me and Rin. Thank you for listening to me when I needed to rant, and for keeping Rin out of trouble when I couldn't."

"What big sister would I be if I didn't?" Allen responded, placing her hand on Yukio's with a smile.

* * *

"I got all your stuff packed, Allen!" Rin called as he saw his siblings walking down the sidewalk.

Allen jogged over to him. "Everything? Even that special jacket of mine?"

"Yes, even the jacket," the younger of the two replied. "What's with that jacket anyways? Does it have something to do with your… uh… arm?"

"Yeah, but I don't really know why," Allen responded. "I remember some things, but it all went by so fast that I barely got any of it."

Rin opened his mouth to respond, but in a poof of purple smoke, Mephisto Pheles appeared out of nowhere. Allen felt Neah bristle in what felt like a mix of anger and distrust.

' _Neah? What's wrong?'_

' _ **N-nothing. It's just… keep an eye on that guy.'**_

"My, my… What a pleasant day," Mephisto sighed. "A bright blue sky fitting for a brand new departure."

"Oi," Rin said rather dully from where he stood next to the Demon King. "We _are_ going to be okay tagging along with you, right? With that stupid clown outfit and all."

Rin looked down the road, which he was idiotically standing in the middle of, to see a pink limo heading in their direction - rather quickly, at that. Allen barely missed grabbing him and pulling him to the sidewalk, though the fact that Rin had also jumped away helped.

"WAAGH! What the hell?!" Rin exclaimed, heart pounding. "That's one incredibly long car!"

"It's pink, too?" Allen muttered, rather disdainful.

"Please take care of them, Faust-san" Kyodo said, shaking Mephisto's hand.

"You can count on me!" Mephisto exclaimed. "I will also be assisting in helping run the monastery, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Huh? I thought your name was Mephisto..?" Rin said in confusion.

"Truthfully, I go by John Faust the Fifth in public, chairman of the eminent True Cross Academy," Mephisto replied.

"True Cross? As in where Yukio is going to attend?" Rin asked.

"That's the one!" Allen affirmed. "Truth be told, you and I will be attending, too. Since Mephisto is our temporary guardian until Shiro awakens from his coma, he thought it'd be easier to keep an eye on us if we went to school there."

Rin then got really pissed, and started yelling at Mephisto. Allen tuned plugged her ears with a deadpan expression, waiting until Rin's temper died off for the moment. She then pulled her fingers out of her ears to hear what Mephisto was saying.

"...True Cross is a boarding academy. Once you enter, you cannot leave without express permission," Mephisto clarified. "You will not be able to return here for quite some time. Have you finished saying your goodbyes?"

Rin got a faraway look in his eyes and Allen speculated that he was thinking back over the years. Allen wished that she was able to have spent more time here with these people, but regardless of how she felt, it was time to move on. Time to start a new chapter of her life.

* * *

Allen let out a deep sigh at the female uniform Mephisto had given her. "Hey, Faust. Can I get the male uniform?"

"Huh? But I think you would look perfect in the girl uniform!" Mephisto exclaimed.

"Don't care," Allen glared at him.

"Ah, fine," Mephisto sighed, giving both her and Rin a male uniform. "By the way, we're about to arrive."

Allen looked over to Rin and Yukio to see Rin with a half-glare, half-pout on his face. He was directing it at both her and Yukio. Allen decided not to comment, as Yukio had a few moments earlier.

"This academy possesses all academic facilities you could dream of and forms the center of True Cross Campus Town," Mephisto said. "Welcome to True Cross Academy. The matriculation ceremony will begin shortly. Simply head along to the main auditorium with everyone else."

"Thanks for the info," Allen said, staring out the window as the car came to a stop.

"Okumura-kun, you don't mind changing into the uniform in the car, do you?" Mephisto asked. Rin nodded and Mephisto turned to Yukio. "Show Allen-chan to the facilities so that she - I mean he - can get changed."

"Of course, Mr. Faust," Yukio replied. He and Allen got out of the car while Rin stayed inside.

"So, what's the story behind him?" Allen asked as Yukio led her into the school building.

"He's the headmaster here," Yukio said, glancing at her with a look saying ' _I'll tell you later'_.

"Ah, okay," Allen replied, shooting back, ' _You better'_.

"Here we are," Yukio said, pushing the male restroom door open.

"Wow, such a gentleman," Allen smirked, entering the room. She entered one of the stalls, unperturbed by all the guys doing their business.

Though the smell wasn't the best, she'd dealt with worse. Quickly, she changed into the male uniform, remembering to bind her chest - just in case. She wasn't necessarily 'busty,' but she wasn't gonna take any chances. After that was done, she unlocked the stall and stepped out, resecuring her beanie to hide her hair. She had already gotten enough crap from middle school kids for her hair. There was no need to subject herself to high school teasing, too.

"Done?" Yukio asked as Allen exited the washroom.

"Mhm," Allen nodded. "We should probably meet up with Rin, then head to the entrance ceremony."

"I suppose," Yukio responded, though he seemed distant. Allen sighed, telling herself that she'd talk to both of her brothers later.

* * *

"First-year student representative, Okumura Yukio," the teacher up on stage called.

"Yes!" Yukio responded, standing from his seat between Rin and Allen. A lot of the students around Allen started whispering about him, and Allen smiled at Rin's bewildered expression. His expression slowly morphed to one of pride - pride for a younger brother who had come so far.

 _I wish it didn't have to be like this,_ Allen mentally sighed, already knowing what was going through Rin's head. _I can't do anything to help them._

* * *

" _Now Allen, that was good, but do it like this," a tall man with a clouded face and soothing voice said. Allen's brown-red hair fell into her eyes as she attempted to balance on a large ball._

" _It's too hard XXXX! I can't do it!" The voice of a young child came from her mouth._

" _Sure you can, you just have to believe enough," the man seemed to be smiling._

Who is he?

" _Hey Allen, do you know why it's hard?"_

"' _Cause I suck at this?" Allen's voice was hard, thick with an old English accent. Both her and this man were speaking English._

" _No, because you don't think you can do it," the man replied. "It's the same in everything, even in life. If you don't think you can do something about it, then you won't be able to. But if you believe in yourself, you can do anything your heart desires!"_

" _That's just a bunch o' hooey!" Allen exclaimed, falling backwards off of the ball._

" _Only if you think it is," the man crouched down next to her as she stubbornly wiped tears from her eyes. "Do you want to try again?"_

 _She took a deep breath, calming her frustration. "Okay. But only one more time!"_

" _That's the spirit, Allen!"_

* * *

"Allen?"

Allen was jolted from the vision by Rin shaking her shoulder. She looked over to him, feeling like she was in a daze. With a few blinks, she focused on Rin, half-forcing a smile.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Just got a little caught up in my thoughts," she told him, standing from her seat as Yukio approached.

"Alright, we have some free time now," Yukio said as he got into hearing range. "Do whatever you want but be in the dorm room before eight o'clock tonight."

"Of course," Allen nodded. With that, the three exited the auditorium and made their way to the courtyard. There, Yukio was stopped by a few of their fellow first years wanting to know about him. Allen glanced over at Rin and saw a dark expression on his face.

"Hey, don't worry about Yukio and the whole 'exorcist' thing," Allen said, elbowing his ribs gently. "If you do, you're in for a big surprise. Let's go find Mr. Faust."

Seemingly pulled away from his brooding, Rin nodded and Allen led the way to where Mephisto was supposed to meet them.

* * *

When they arrived, Mephisto had yet to show up, so they resigned themselves to waiting. After a few minutes, there was a _poof_ sound behind them. They turned and Mephisto was sitting on a lamp post.

"So, how do we become exorcists?" Rin asked almost immediately.

"It's nice to see that you're so enthusiastic, Okumura-kun," Mephisto smirked. "However, there is a specific procedure to be followed. At the moment, the both of you will be attending a cram school."

"Cram school?!" Rin exclaimed.

"Agh, I forgot to tell him," Allen sighed, facepalming. "It's an Exorcist cram school. You begin as a page to learn how to be an exorcist."

"Precisely, Allen-chan - or should I say, Allen- _kun_?" Mephisto said before clearing his throat. "Anywho, your regular lessons do not begin until tomorrow, but your exorcist classes start today. However, I must give you one warning, Okumura-kun!"

Mephisto pointed a finger at Rin. "No one is to find out that you are the Son of Satan. It seems that your tail is hidden nicely and the ears and teeth can be explained away. Your flames, however, are a different matter. You must keep them under strict control."

"I'll do my best," Rin nodded. "Allen can help keep me in check."

"Mhm," Allen nodded.

"Very well," Mephisto replied. "Though, to tell you the truth, I'm still a little concerned, so I'll be keeping an eye one you during this first lesson." He turned away and started counting to three in German. He snapped when he reached drei then turned into a dog. "Shall we go, then?"

"E-exorcists can transform?!" Rin exclaimed in shock.

"Just him," Allen sweatdropped while Neah muttered, ' _ **Show-off.'**_

' _Play nice, Neah.'_

' _ **Yeah, yeah, whatever.'**_

Allen sighed through her nose, knowing full well that Neah wasn't planning on backing down. There was something going on between him and Mephisto while Allen was ignorant and caught in the middle of it.

"This is a key to the school," Mephisto said, pulling Allen away from her musings. She bent down to grab one of the two keys Mephisto offered. "This key will allow you to access the cram school from any door at any point in time. Try it out with that random door under us."

"Door-ex-machina," Allen muttered to herself while Rin jumped down to open the door. She followed a moment later, eying a human-shaped figure that quickly vanished when it realized she was looking at it.

Rin had opened the door and let out an exclamation of wonder as Mephisto led both him and Allen inside.

"First-years have class in room 1106," the demon-king said, then started walking to the left. After a few minutes, they reached a door. "Here we are!"

"I'm getting kind of nervous," Rin said.

"It's okay," Allen smiled reassuringly. "We'll be fine."

Rin nodded, then opened the door. They looked inside and Allen counted ten people. Three of them looked vaguely familiar. One of those three was probably a couple years younger than the rest while the other two looked about a year older.

The older girl had shoulder-length dark hair that looked green-ish and violet eyes accompanied it. The older guy had long, midnight blue hair pulled into a ponytail with eyes the same color. The one that was younger had amber eyes and light brown hair that was cut pretty short. Allen didn't think it looked good on him.

Allen sat down next to Rin and faced the front, feeling eyes on her back, though she was unaware of whose.

"There are quite a few more pages than usual," Mephisto noted. "I'm glad they accepted. That means there are twelve pages this year and that will be a big help in the long run."

"Alright, quiet down," the teacher said as he entered. "Take your seats everyone. The lesson is about to begin."

Lo and behold, there stood Yukio at the teacher podium. Allen sighed as she read Rin's facial expression. He was about to embarrass himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Yukio greeted with a slightly strained smile. "I'll be your teacher in anti-demon pharmacology, Okumura Yukio."

"Yukio?!" Rin shouted, standing abruptly.

"That would be me," Yukio said, obviously prepared for this. "Is there something you need?"

"No- I- Wha- Whaddaya mean 'is there somethin- Ow!" Rin exclaimed as Allen grabbed his ear roughly.

"I recommend that you sit down Okumura," Allen said, mouth in an agitated smirk and an irk mark on her forehead. "Before I make you."

Yukio seemed to get a bit paler at that, but Rin seemed terrified and sat down. Allen gave him a look, as if to say ' _I'll explain later.'_

"Thank you, Walker-san," Yukio nodded at Allen before turning his attention to the entire class. "As I'm sure you already know, I'm around the same age as you. This will be my first year lecturing, though I've been an exorcist for two years now. As such, in the context of your exorcism studies, you should address me as 'sensei.'

"Now then," Yukio continued. "How many of you have never sustained a mashou, please raise your hand."

Rin seemed confused by what a mashou was, but Allen decided to let Mephisto. She ignored their conversation in favor of listen to what Yukio had to say. He was her teacher in this instance.

"Three of you?" Yukio stated as he looked at the raised hands. "If that's so, I believe we should begin our first lesson by covering the mashou rite. Gaining a mashou is fairly simple. All you have to do is be hurt by a demon, though if you have demon blood in your family, you were probably born with one.

"Now, this classroom that we're using is not actually in general use," Yukio said. "It is currently the home of a type of demon called 'goblins.'"

"Is that safe?" A female student with short brown hair had raised her hand.

"We should be fine. Goblins tend to stay away from bright areas populated by humans," Yukio reassured her. "They are a low level demon with only enough magic to cause mischief, thus they're easy to handle. However, if they catch the scent of rotten animal blood, they become agitated and ferocious.

"Today, we are going to be using a mixture diluted with milk, which goblins are fond of," Yukio continued. "I will dilute them with ten parts milk, then use a few drops of the mixture to lure out a goblin or two in order to aid us with our rite. If you could all wait a moment while I set this up, that would be great."

Allen sighed yet again as Rin stood from his seat rather aggressively. He stormed over to Yukio and essentially shouted in the younger twin's face.

' _ **He doesn't make very smart decisions, does he?'**_

Allen mentally rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to her brothers. This was going to be a long argument. Not the simple ones they would have over Rin taking the last cookie, or the ones where Allen would be mad at Rin for getting into a fight again, not even the ones about Yukio risking his life on a mission. This was going to be one of the arguments where somebody says something they don't mean to and one of them gets hurt. Allen would make sure they apologized later.

' _ **Isn't this the type of argument they should be having - oh, I don't know -**_ **not in the middle of a class** _ **?!'**_

' _Huh?'_

' _ **You're not even paying attention, are you?'**_

' _No, sorry.'_

Allen felt Neah sigh before he redirected her attention to the twins fighting at the front of the room.

"...received a mashou from you on the day I was born," Yukio was saying, and Allen could tell it was devastating for Rin to listen to. "I've been able to see demons for as long as I can remember. I knew all along, and you were the only one who didn't. Now would you move aside?"

Rin was quiet for a few moments before grabbing Yukio's coat in a fist, unknowningly making Yukio drop the vial of blood. "Why did you never tell me anything?!"

Allen knew that was for her as much as it was for Yukio, but she made a silent vow to tell him everything as soon as this was resolved. Currently, there were more pressing matters. Such as the swarm of hobgoblins invading the classroom.

Yukio ordered for the students to evacuate the room after explaining why the hobgoblins were so dangerous at the moment and apologizing for dropping the vial. Allen made her way to the back of the room, making sure everyone got out. As she neared the middle desk, she made eye contact with Lenalee.

"We'll talk later, Allen," the slightly older girl said. Allen nodded then pushed the two of them out of the room. She did a quick glance-over of the room. Nobody left but her and the twins.

"You two should leave, too," Yukio said. "I need to cleanse the room."

Allen nodded and moved to leave, but Rin kicked the door shut before she could get there.

"We're not done talking yet, Yukio!" Rin shouted. "Besides, it's my fault you dropped the blood, so sorry."

"You _are_ clumsy," Yukio sighed before shooting a demon behind him. "Besides, I have nothing more to say to you about this."

"Then Allen!" Rin said, turning to their sister. "What do you have to say? You knew?"

"I- Yes," Allen responded, watching Yukio shoot down more of the hobgoblins. "Shiro swore me to secrecy. There were so many times that I wanted to tell you, just so you wouldn't be so hard on yourself. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you anything."

"Fair enough," Rin said, then looked back to Yukio. "Listen to what I have to say to you, Yukio!"

"You do realize you're being eaten, right?" Allen and Yukio deadpanned at the same time.

"Just listen!" Rin exclaimed, bursting into flame and burning the hobgoblins surrounding him. "I haven't been able to talk to you since Satan attacked and Dad was put in a coma! If you knew, what did you think? How did you feel about me?"

"How I felt?" Yukio asked rhetorically, shooting more goblins and reloading his guns. "You're a demon, Nii-san. I consider you a danger to us all."

"You-!" Rin started, and Allen realized that this wasn't going to be a normal fight. Yukio was getting rid of built up stress and anger, Rin was confused, frustrated and just wanted to protect his younger twin, and Allen was caught in the middle of it. This was a fight between the twins, not the three of them as siblings. Still though, she had to be there for them in the aftermath. They were family, and family stayed together.

"You're a fool Nii-san," Yukio said. "Why did you come up with this idea of being an exorcist? Revenge? Some kind of twisted atonement towards Father? If you truly have the nerve to feel that way, then you should give yourself up to headquarters, or even just die, please."

Allen could see from Yukio body language that those words weren't the ones he meant, but they were the ones that came out.

"What?!" Rin exclaimed. "Don't tell me you actually- You think it was _my_ fault that Dad got put in a coma?"

"Do you deny it?" Yukio asked. "Father spent all these years protecting you. He was the only one who could stand up to Satan's possession in the entire world, so naturally, Satan was out to possess him. For fifteen years, Father fought that off. He was the ultimate exorcist. Father would never allow Satan in like that. His mind must have been weakened."

Rin was silent, probably thinking about the conversation between him and Shiro a few days prior. The conversation turned argument that led Shiro to slapping Rin while Allen had to watch.

"You said something, didn't you?" Yukio said.

"I- I-" Rin stammered, and Allen could sympathize, if only a little.

"If Father could ever be said to have a weakness, then that weakness is you," Yukio stated, pointing his gun at Rin. Allen felt her breath hitch, stomach sinking. He wouldn't… would he? "You, Nii-san, were the one who hurt Father."

Rin's expression became dark again. "I-I'm an idiot, and I don't deny it, so say whatever you want..! But let me say one thing." He then began to draw Kurikara. "Don't you ever point your goddamn gun at your brother! We're family, dammit!"

"Nii-san," Yukio muttered.

"Listen, it wasn't me who hurt the old man!" Rin shouted. "I understand if you feel like you can't forgive me. But it that a reason to point that thing at me? Is it?!"

Yukio pulled his guard back up as Rin ran right at Yukio. Rin continued. "If shooting me is going to make you feel better, then pull that trigger! Shoot me!"

Just as Rin reached the younger twin, he leapt up and cut the large hobgoblin behind Yukio in half. As Rin landed on the ground, he sheathed his sword. Allen took a step closer, listening to Mephisto's sound of awe. Or was that delight?

' _ **Probably both.'**_

' _Shush. Rin and Yukio are having a moment here.'_

' _ **Okay, okay.'**_

"I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not low enough to fight my own brother," Rin growled as the sword was fully sheathed and his flames disappeared.

"I'll leave you two to talk it out," Allen smiled at them, approaching the door.

"Wait," Rin said. "I want to know why you didn't get very involved, Allen."

"Why?" Allen responded. "I suppose I assumed it was something the two of you needed to resolve without me. Anywho, I'll see ya at the dorm tonight."

As Allen exited the classroom, she was bombarded by a bunch of questions from the other students.

"What happened?"

"Is everything okay?"

"There was some shouting, is somebody hurt?"

"Don't worry. They're just having a brotherly argument, I got caught in the crossfire," Allen told her classmates. "But I think class is canceled for today. The classroom is a mess."

' _ **Why did you lie to Rin and Yukio about why you didn't get involved?'**_

' _They're already worried enough. They don't need to add my problems to the mix.'_

After Allen filled them in, the other students went on their own ways. Two of the people Allen found familiar gave her a few lingering glances, but weren't able to stay from long.

"Oi, Lenalee, Kanda!" The guy with pink hair from their class waved at them from down the hall. "It's time to get going!"

"Be right there, Shima!" Kanda called back.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Lenalee said to the white haired girl. Allen nodded, then watched the two walk away. They had just left Allen's range of sight when Yukio and Rin exited the classroom.

"Let's go, you two," Allen smiled, ruffling both boys' hair. "We have some sight-seeing to do! And, no Yukio, you can't come up with some stupid excuse to get out of it."

"Okay, fine," Yukio tried to seem exasperated, but utterly failed as a grin - a real one - broke out on his face.

"Woohoo!" Rin cheered, and the three were off to look around the town.

* * *

That night, after they got settled into their dormitory, Allen confronted Rin when she caught him alone.

"What's up?" Allen asked.

"I just- I dunno," Rin sighed. "Everything had been happening so fast and I don't know how to handle it."

"I'm not handling it the best either," Allen responded. "On top of the whole 'becoming exorcists' thing, I've recovered some of my memories about my life before I met you guys and I think I've come into contact with some people from before."

"That's rough," Rin said.

"Hey, I just wanted you to know that you're not alone in this," Allen told him, turning around. "I'm here for you, and Yukio is, too. Just trust us, okay? Because we care - a lot."

Allen heard him hum in affirmation, probably nodding, then stepped out of the room, letting him know she was in the next room over if he needed anything.

' _ **They sort of solved the aftermath of the fight without you, huh?'**_

' _I suppose so. Neah, who are they? Those people in the cram school, I mean.'_

' _ **Ah, you haven't fully recovered your memories, have you? Well, that girl is Lenalee Lee. You and her were close friends when you were in your original world. Then there's Kanda Yuu - the both of you were rivals but also friends, I suppose. Finally, Timothy Hearst. He looked up to you like an older sister before. I don't know if any of them have unlocked their memories, but I guess only time will tell.'**_

' _Yeah, I guess.'_

Allen entered her dorm room, then got ready for bed. She laid on the bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling and contemplating Neah's information. Letting out a sigh, she resigned herself to sleep. It'd be easier to think in the morning.

* * *

 **Again, that was super long, but I hope all of you enjoyed it! Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, concerns or criticisms in a review. Flames will be ignored, though I'm sure all of you lovely people would never make any flame about my writing. Anywho, I'll see you all later!**


	5. Chapter 4

_A figure with crazy red-orange hair and a shadowed face leaning on the doorframe. Why couldn't Allen remember him? She remembered the names and faces before, but why couldn't she see the people now? That man from before, Lenalee, Kanda and Timothy, and now this redheaded figure._

" _I'm XXXX. Nice to meet ya, little lady," the redhead greeted, a smile on his face._

" _Nice to meet you, too." She felt her mouth move without her consent - her memory-self was talking, apparently._

" _Oh yeah! You have a message from a Miss XXXXXXX," the guy told her, handing her a piece of paper. Her memory-self opened it, but to her it was blank. She was sure that there was something there, but nothing was showing to her._

 _Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by smoke and a destroyed building._

" _How many did you kill?" It was that guy's voice!_

" _About 30," was her response._

" _Hah! I got 37, so I win," the redhead chuckled. Allen felt like a real chuckle was something that this man didn't do often._

 _Allen's memory-self was silent for a few more seconds. "I couldn't keep track of that mess."_

" _You know, it's 'cause I can remember anything and everything," he said, slightly smug._

" _Oh hush," Allen felt a smile on her face as she sat up on whatever she was laying on._

 _This redheaded guy with a shadowed face and a name Allen knew but couldn't remember. He was important to her, she knew he was. What was their relationship, though?_

 _Again, they jumped to another point in time. Now, they were both older, and Allen could see clearly - her eye must have been injured in the past two memories._

" _Allen-chan, I-"_

Allen fell out of her bed at the yelling from the next room over. The twins were shouting about something.

"Take me with you!" That was definitely Rin.

"What?!" Yukio replied

"I'd definitely learn a hell of a lot more actually seeing stuff than sitting around reading!" Rin exclaimed. Allen ignored them from that point - Yukio must have been going on a mission, maybe a supply run? It didn't matter.

The white-haired girl let out a sigh as she searched her dorm room for a pair of sweatpants. After successfully finding some, she grabbed the closest shirt and changed into both articles of clothing. Since she showered the night before, she didn't bother going to take another one.

Instead, she left her dorm room and went over to the boys' one. She rapped her knuckles against the wood, silencing the shouting. Yukio was the one who answered with Rin right behind him.

"You two woke me up," she deadpanned.

"My apologies," Yukio replied. "Actually, while you're here, do you mind talking Rin out of going with me?"

"Hey! You just said I could go!" Rin protested.

"Depends," Allen ignored him. "What are you going to go do?"

"Somebody sent in a request. I was chosen to go fulfill it," Yukio told her. Allen gave him a scrutinizing glare before grinning.

"Then I'm going, too!" Allen exclaimed. "No questions!"

"Why did I have to get stuck with you two as my siblings?" Yukio sighed rhetorically.

"At least I finished all my schoolwork," Allen said smugly. Rin pouted at her for that.

"Alright, fine, _both_ of you can come to observe," Yukio sighed yet again. He was probably going to do that a lot today. "Come in here so I can close the door and use the key."

Allen did as her youngest brother asked and then Yukio closed and reopened the door, this time opening with a key. It opened to a long pathway that led to a little hut. The exorcist supply shop. Shiro and Yukio had gone there often, Allen recalled.

Allen ignored how Yukio explained how the keys worked in favor of thinking about that dream she had. It had actually been a reoccurring one recently and she found it very frustrating. It would always end right before the guy would say that to her.

" _Allen-chan I-"_

Allen had a couple of theories about what he could have said, but she didn't want to make assumptions before she saw the guy again - _if_ she saw the guy again.

' _ **I have a feeling you'll meet him again real soon.'**_

' _What do you mean, Neah?'_

' _ **You'll see.'**_

Allen just sighed at him softly. Neah would always be Neah, and that gave Allen at least a little comfort.

"You two, wait here for a bit while I go buy some supplies," Yukio said, pulling Allen from her thoughts.

"Can't we go in, too?" Rin whined.

"This shop is only for exorcists and above," Yukio replied. "I won't be very long. Oh, and Rin?"

"Hmm?" Rin asked.

"No wandering about, and no touching anything!" Yukio said sternly. "Allen, keep an eye on him."

"Just go!" The two older siblings exclaimed.

"Tch! Stupid Yukio, treating us like little kids," Rin sneered. "'No wandering about!' 'No reading manga!' Bah, what is he, my mother? Damn Yukio! Just wait, you'll be begging for my help one of these days!"

"Relax, Rin," Allen chuckled. "He's just worried about you - probably. I don't think he means anything by it."

"Yeah, whatever," Rin scowled before stomping up the stairs.

' _ **Aren't you gonna say something?'**_

' _If he wants to get in trouble with Yukio, I say let him! It's his own fault anyway.'_

' _ **So if you're not being harsh to me, you're being harsh to your brothers?'**_

' _No, I just think Rin needs to learn his lesson.'_

Allen sighed as she watched Rin make it to the fenced-in garden area. He made an exclamation of wonder that Allen could barely hear before taking notice of something in the garden. Allen sighed - _again_ \- and followed him up the steps. She made it to him just as he touched the gate and it fell down.

 _Must've been warded,_ Allen thought to herself as the blonde girl in the garden - Shiemi - let out a scream.

"D-demon!" She shouted.

"I'm not!" Rin protested.

"But the ward on the gate only reacts to demons!" Shiemi replied. Rin took a couple steps forward and she shuffled back. "P-please don't hurt me! Don't come in!"

Just then a redhead with bright green eyes ran into the garden.

"I heard a scream, what's-" He cut himself off as he glanced between Allen, Rin, and the knocked over the gate. He stood between them and the girl. "What's going on here?!"

Allen pushed herself in front of Rin, fixing him with a glare to tell him to stay quiet before turning back to the redhead. "Look, we're sorry. My brother and I were just looking around and I guess the gate reacted to my arm." To prove her point, she showed the two her innocence arm.

"Ah, I see," the redhead replied, moving out of his defensive stance but obviously still on guard. "Was it possessed by a demon or something?"

"It's…" Allen trailed off for a moment. "A long story. You probably won't understand."

"Well, that was embarrassing," the guy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm Lavi and this is Shiemi. What're your names?"

" _I'm Lavi. Nice to meet ya, little lady."_

Allen realized she was silent for a moment too long and quickly scrambled to reply. "M-my name is Allen and this is my brother Rin."

Allen then noticed some strange root-like protrusions under the skin of Shiemi's legs. The white-haired girl recognized it as a type of parasite demon - probably somewhere in the garden - but couldn't say what demon it was or its specific level.

' _ **Probably what Yukio was called here to fix.'**_

' _Probably.'_

"Hey, Rin," Lavi said, interrupting whatever Shiemi was about to say. Stood and walked over to Allen and Rin. "Do you mind helping me with the gate?"

"Oh, sure," Rin replied with a slight nod from Allen.

"Allen, can you help me with getting this manure into the dirt?" Shiemi asked, holding a bucket.

"Yeah, okay," Allen told the other girl, rolling up her own sleeves. She crouched and Shiemi handed her the bucket, giving instructions on what to do.

"How did we get roped into this, Allen?" Rin asked, hefting up one side of the gate, Lavi on the other side.

"We did kind of break the gate down, then scare Shiemi, didn't we?" Allen responded, letting some sass slip into her tone.

"Thank you for moving the gate," Shiemi smiled as Allen poured the manure into the hole that was dug. "We wouldn't be able to lay the manure. It's diluted cow manure, just so you know."

"That stinks, it's making my eyes water!" Rin complained. "How are you doing that, Allen?!"

"Eh, I've dealt with worse," Allen shrugged.

"Thanks for helping!" Lavi said after he and Rin finished with the gate. "Shiemi has trouble because of her legs and I'm usually busy helping our mom run the shop. I was in the warehouse when I heard Shiemi's scream, so I was able to come."

"It's nice having help, sometimes!" Shiemi's smile grew bigger.

"What's with the attitude, weren't you just calling me a demon?" Rin muttered, but Allen elbowed him in the ribs for it. "Ow!"

"Hey, do you mind if the two of you are our friends?" Shiemi asked. "Normally, it's just Lavi and I because we don't get visitors that often."

"Sure, why not," Allen exclaimed, shaking hands with Shiemi while Rin stammered out some nonsense.

Shiemi then went on about how this garden belonged to her and Lavi's grandmother before she passed away.

"Hey, Allen, can we talk away from these two?" Lavi asked, gesturing to Rin and Shiemi.

"Uh, sure?" Allen replied questioningly. Lavi led her to another part of the garden, an area that was more secluded.

"So, have you activated yet?" Lavi questioned.

"Yea," Allen nodded, face solemn. "I don't really remember anything. I think I remembered too much all at once and I ended up only get fragments. Hair colors, eyes colors, vague bits of memories. I only remember a little bit about you, Kanda, Timothy, and Lenalee because I've already met you guys in this world. Neah has been able to fill me in on some of the details, but he's really cryptic sometimes."

"Yeah, that's how it was with me at the beginning, so I'm assuming you only activated recently," Lavi responded, and Allen nodded, so he continued. "Then you don't remember that yet, do you?"

"What part?" Allen asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Nevermind," Lavi grinned, waving it off. "How did you meet Yuu, Lena-lady, and Timothy?"

"Well, technically, I haven't talked to them yet," Allen sighed. "But we have the same exorcist class. Well, we're all pages, but that's beside the point."

"Sounds fun," Lavi replied and was about to continue before he was interrupted by Yukio.

"Nii-san!" Yukio had exclaimed as Lavi and Allen left their secluded part of the garden. "Allen-niisan, too? What on Earth have to two of you gotten yourselves into. I swear I can never leave you alone."

Allen put her hands behind her head as she strolled on out to the center of the garden, minding the plants. "Hey, I followed Rin because I knew he was going to get himself into trouble."

Rin ignored her and instead waved at Yukio. "Hey, Yukio!"

"Yuki-chan!" Shiemi exclaimed with a blush that wasn't from having a crush on him.

' _ **Probably admires him.'**_

' _Maybe. I really don't know much about their relationship, so I couldn't tell you for sure.'_

' _ **Mm.'**_

"'Yuki-chan?' You know each other?" Rin asked. "Allen, did you know that?"

"Yep," the two replied at the same time, then Yukio continued with, "She lives at this shop, which I visit all the time. Hello there, Shiemi-san."

"H-hello!" Shiemi replied, blush still present.

"These are my older brothers. Rin is my twin while Allen entered our family around five years ago," Yukio replied.

"Really?!" Shiemi exclaimed. "You look like the oldest."

"That makes sense," Yukio replied. "Rin is only my brother by name and Allen isn't even that."

"Isn't even that?" Shiemi echoed, confused.

"My last name is 'Walker,' not 'Okumura' like theirs is," Allen replied. She was sure that if they were in an anime that there would be a diagram pointing at her saying 'Walker' and at the twins that said 'Okumura.' She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts.

"What do mean 'in name only?!'" Rin shouted.

"The both of them are pages, exorcists in training," Yukio told Shiemi, ignoring his siblings. "They're tagging along to watch me work."

"Watch..?" Shiemi questioned.

"Shiemi, let the young man look at your legs," a woman who Allen assumed was Shiemi's mother said.

"I- I haven't had anything to do with any-!" Shiemi protested.

"Could I just take a look?" Yukio asked, interrupting her.

"O-okay," Shiemi replied.

"Thank you," Yukio smiled, then proceeded to lift Shimi's kimono skirt just enough to see her legs. "'Roots.' This is a mashou, the work of a demon, no doubt."

"I-it can't be," Shiemi stammered.

"Then Shiemi is-!" Shiemi's mother started before being interrupted by Yukio.

"No, she is _not_ being possessed. This is the work of a demon not powerful enough to possess a human. It probably possessed one of the plants in the garden. A Dokkalfer, a Greenman, or maybe an Ent. All of these are relatively weak demons. This demon seems to be breaching through the ground and into Shiemi's legs to parasitically leech from her heart.

"The demon is somewhere in this garden," Yukio continued. "Shiemi-san, demons can only find a way to invade humans' hearts by talking to them. You must have spoken with this demon at some point. If you have any clue, please tell me."

"I-I haven't spoken to any demons," Shiemi stated, but one glance at Lavi and Allen could tell that this wasn't the truth.

"Shiemi!" The mother exclaimed suddenly. "You are going to leave this garden at once!"

"But mother-!"

"Shiemi, she's right," Lavi butt in, voice quiet compared to the two women's. "I know that this garden was precious to Grandmother, but you can't stay cooped up in here. It's not worth sacrificing your health."

"Your brother is right!" The older woman said. "You cannot stay in this accursed garden!"

"Accursed garden..?" Shiemi muttered. "This garden was Granny's greatest treasure! I hate you mother!"

A moment after Shiemi had said that, she wobbled a little bit before fainting. Lavi jumped forward, barely making it in time to catch her. He lifted her into his arms, then carried her to the storehouse. Allen helped him tuck her in.

* * *

"You want to talk?" Allen asked once she noticed Lavi's silence. They were sitting over by the gate.

Lavi sighed before glancing at her and looking back down. "Our grandmother lived in the storehouse before she passed. After she was gone, Shiemi took up her work and started tending to the garden. Maybe she blamed herself, I don't know." Lavi's eyes had a faraway look in them and he chuckled hollowly. "Maybe she blames me for not stopping her."

"Hey," Allen said, putting a hand on Lavi's arm. "She doesn't blame you, I can see it in her eyes. She really looks up to you. You're a good brother."

"You really think so?" Lavi asked, voice sounding broken and eyes wet with unshed tears.

"I know so," Allen smiled at him gently. "Besides, aren't you Bookman Junior? Thought you were trained to hide your emotions."

"Heh, I guess these five years have changed me a lot," Lavi chuckled again, but this time he sounded more alive. "We're basically different people now. We both have families, we live relatively normal lives, and we still fight demons."

"Isn't that the truth," Allen replied. "Honestly, this place is so different from the Black Order. It's the same, in some ways, but there are different people to meet and talk to. I wonder if this is what our world would have become if we stayed. Maybe this is the same world as our old one."

"What are you rambling on about?" Lavi questioned. "Different worlds?"

"Just look at Assiah and Gehenna!" Allen exclaimed, using her hands to express herself. "They're two separate realms of one world. What's to say that this place isn't the same 'Earth' as we knew it?"

Lavi was quiet for a moment, seemingly considering this possibility. "No, there are too many differences. I mean, what happened to Edo, Japan?"

Allen searched her mind for the memory before recalling a white Ark, a black Ark, and a drawn-out fight with a group who she remembered to be the Noah Clan. "It was basically flattened?"

"Right," Lavi said. "Glad you were able to remember. But that didn't happen here. The city of Edo, Japan is still standing. So, therefore, we _have_ to be in a separate 'Earth' from the one we were in before."

Allen then noticed Rin walking over to the storehouse where Shiemi was resting. He opened the door and seemed to start talking. Maybe Shiemi had woken up? Before Allen could either confirm or debunk this theory, Rin turned around and started destroying pots and plants in the garden.

"Rin, what's going on?!" Allen exclaimed, jumping to her feet with Lavi.

Rin seemed to ignore her and instead turned his attention to Shiemi when she told him told him to stop.

"What's holding you down like this?!" Rin basically shouted at Shiemi. Lavi moved to do something, but Allen grabbed him with a vice-like grip.

"Let's not get involved," Allen muttered, eyes shadowed by her hair.

"Why not?" Lavi asked.

"Rin wants to prove his point to Shiemi," Allen told him, barely being heard over the shouting of the other two teens in the garden.

"It's my fault that Granny died!" Shiemi had shouted and Allen's grip tightened.

* * *

 _It was a snowy winter day. Allen couldn't really remember what this day was, but it felt important somehow, and not in a dreadful way. A birthday, maybe? Either way, Allen felt excitement bubbling in her chest._

" _Are you ready Allen?" It was the man from before!_

" _Let's go already!" Allen exclaimed, pulling on the man' hand._

" _Alright, alright," he laughed. "I'm coming."_

 _In Allen's haste, she had failed to notice a carriage quickly approaching. As she ushered this man into the street, the carriage driver called out. The man skillfully pushed Allen out of the way of the carriage._

" _Mana!"_

 _The snow was stained red that day._

* * *

"It was my fault," Allen muttered. She felt a hand on her cheek and looked up to meet dark green eyes.

"Hey, what's up?" Lavi told her gently, thumb pushing away tears that Allen had realized had formed. "You started crying out of nowhere. Did you remember something?"

Allen just nodded her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. It was then she realized that her hand had a tight grip on Lavi's arm. She let go, pulling her arm closer to her.

"Sorry," Allen said quietly.

"It's fine," Lavi replied, putting his other hand on her right cheek. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but know that I'm here for you."

Allen nodded again and was about to reply but was interrupted by a raspy voice.

"You think you're going to ruin our promise?" The voice had said. "Unforgivable."

Shiemi screamed, pulling Lavi and Allen's attention away from each other.

"Shiemi!" Lavi and Rin cried at the same time.

A giant, demon-possessed flower burst from the ground. "We will be together forever, together in this garden!" The flower then laughed maniacally.

"The demon is using her as a shield," Allen said to Lavi.

"Yeah," Lavi nodded. "Think you're up to activating again?"

"Let's try it," Allen replied. "Innocence activate, Crowned Clown!"

Like before, a white cloak settled on her shoulders and the fingers of her left hand became long and sharp while her entire arm went from red to black.

"Innocence activate, Ozuchi Kozuchi!" Lavi said, then a black hammer appeared in his hands like he was holding a war hammer.

Allen looked across the garden to see that Rin had unsheathed his sword again. Allen caught Yukio's gaze and his eyes widened before he turned to Rin.

"Keep the demon occupied," he said, then looked at Lavi and Allen. "You, too."

"Got it," Allen nodded. "Let's go, Lavi!"

Rin sprinted from the front while Lavi and Allen attacked from the back. The demon seemed to have trouble dodging the three of them. Allen leaped and swung her arm out, trying to get the demon with her claws, but it turned around and put Shiemi in the way. Allen dug her heels into the ground and just barely missed hurting the blonde girl before jumping away and pulling her arm to her side.

"Heaven Stamp: Violent Thunder-!"

"Wait!" Allen interrupted as Rin jumped back to stand beside her. "We can't attack to recklessly. If we do, we're going to hurt Shiemi."

Lavi grit his teeth. "I suppose you're right. But what are we supposed to do?"

"Guess there's no choice," Yukio sighed, loading his gun. "We're just going to have to shoot both of them."

Yukio aimed his gun at the demon and the demon seemed to panic a bit, hiding it with a laugh. "You're bluffing! You're not going to trick us!"

Allen looked back at Yukio, then realized what was Yukio was doing and decided to play along. "Yukio! Why would you shoot Shiemi? Aren't you friends?!"

"We are, Allen-niisan," Yukio responded. "But if it's to stop a demon, I'll do anything."

"You're totally bluffing!" Lavi exclaimed, seeming to get it too. "You wouldn't!"

"You think so?" Yukio said. "I suppose you could be right. But then again, maybe not."

"Filthy exorcist!" The demon shouted. "You couldn't possibly shoot-!"

It was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Yukio had shot and the bullet went through Shiemi's shoulder and into the flower demon behind her.

"Yukio!" Rin growled as the demon screeched in pain and let Shiemi go.

"It's let her go!" Yukio exclaimed. "Now, Nii-san!"

Rin let out a growl and ran at the demon, slicing it in half. Allen used the bandage-like part of her Innocence to grab Shiemi from hitting the ground, then pulled Shiemi to her. Allen did a quick once-over of the blonde girl while her brothers bickered (read: Rin yelled at Yukio and Yukio told him off calmly). Once confirming that Shiemi was okay, Allen deactivated her Innocence and looked up as she heard footsteps approaching. It was Lavi.

"Is she okay?" Lavi asked immediately, jumping to the ground and looking at his sister quickly. "She's not bleeding, right? Nothing was broken or bruised?"

A weak chuckle came from Shiemi. "I'm fine, Lavi-nii-san."

Allen helped Shiemi sit up as Yukio and Rin walked over. Yukio confirmed that the roots were gone from Shiemi's legs, then Rin, in his blunt and fairly rough manner, told Shiemi to go and apologize to her mother. Lavi walked over as his mother and sister hugged each other and cried.

"So what was in those bullets, anyway?" Rin asked.

"Hmm? Oh, just nutrients," Yukio replied.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Rin said, turning to face his siblings. "I was shitting my pants there! Allen, you didn't know, did you?"

"I did," Allen said, grinning. "Pay attention to your surroundings, Rin, even if they tell you not to."

Rin let out a 'tch' before looking back at Shiemi and her family in one big hug. Allen looked over, too, grin becoming more of a smile. She put on arm around each of her brothers.

"This is nice, huh?" Rin asked, half to himself. "This kind of thing."

"Yeah," Allen said with a slight sigh. Yukio didn't affirm anything aloud, but his expression and posture said it all.

Allen sighed internally. Being the older sister was hard - especially with these two numbnuts. But Shiro had entrusted their safety to her, so she was going to protect them, even at the cost of her life.

' _ **Things are going to work out.'**_

' _How can you tell?'_

' _ **Just a feeling. It might take a while, but there will be a happy end.'**_

"These are your new classmates," Yukio called into the quiet classroom. "Moriyama Shiemi-san and Lavi-san."

"Pleasure to meet you," the siblings chorused, Lavi's smooth and charming and Shiemi's stuttering slightly. They quickly found seats, joining Allen and Rin in the front middle row. Allen turned to Lavi, momentarily ignoring Shiemi and Rin's conversation.

"So why'd you join?" Allen asked, leaning her head on her hand.

"Well, I figured I'd get to be an exorcist again, and I would be able to fight alongside you," Lavi said, winking at the last part. Allen let out a light laugh as her face flushed.

" _Why'd you come back?"_

" _I came back for you. You know I'd never leave my precious Allen-chan all alone."_

" _I know, little Usagi."_

Allen's face flushed even further at the memory but continued the playful banter with Lavi for a few moments. She couldn't help the silent chuckle at Neah's fond, ' _ **Teenagers.'**_

Allen knew it'd be a long journey, but with her friends - new and old - it would be bearable. Now she had to come up with a plan on how to talk with Lenalee and Kanda.


	6. Chapter 5

"Rin," Allen whispered, poking her brother.

"He's not gonna wake up," Lavi said, leaning back in his seat and glancing over.

"Rin!" Allen said a bit louder, jabbing Rin in the ribs.

"Wow, he's a really heavy sleeper," Shiemi said in awe.

Allen let out a sigh of frustration before picking up her book and smacking it over Rin's head. "Wake up, asshole!"

"Wah!" Rin exclaimed, falling out of his seat. The teacher looked over with a disapproving glare and Allen chuckled nervously.

"My apologies," she said, standing and bowing. "Okumura-san fell asleep. I was only waking him up."

"Very well. Don't let it happen again," the teacher said before continuing with the lesson. Allen sat back down, pulling her beanie over her eyes a bit.

"The hell's with this guy?"

Allen looked over her shoulder and saw that the words came from the guy with the mohawk - Suguro Ryuji if Allen remembered correctly. He was sitting with Shima Renzo and Miwa Konekomaru. Lenalee and Kanda were sitting at the table behind them. From what Allen had learned from her brief conversations with Lenalee, all five were from a temple in Kyoto.

"Beat it," Suguro muttered.

"Okumura-kun, Walker-san, pay attention please."

"Sorry sir," Allen said, quickly look back to her paper. Meanwhile, Rin just laughed and Allen had to fight the urge to hit him over the head again.

 _Demon Studies_

Allen sighed again, resting her face in the palm of her hand. Rin was spacing out again. Spacing out led to dozing off and dozing off led to hitting the desk face first. For Rin, at least. Allen was just trying to push through it, praying to every god she knew of to end her suffering.

"What is the least powerful demon under the domain of the Demon King Astaroth?" The teacher was asking, and it took everything Allen had to not shudder at the name. "Okumura-kun!"

Rin jolted upward, clacking his teeth together and giving himself a headache. After he recovered, he looked towards the teacher.

"A coal-tar, I think," Rin said, eyes catching the one flying past his head. "One of these guys right?"

"Good job, Okumura-kun," the teacher said, mildly impressed. Allen grabbed the coal-tar by the tail and started playing with it, bored out of her mind. She knew most of these things already.

"I don't think you should be playing with a demon," Lavi said.

' _ **This is mildly amusing.'**_

"Hush, you," Allen replied to both, crushing the coal-tar before tossing its remains to the side.

* * *

 _Grimoire Studies_

Allen couldn't blame her brother from dozing off in this class. For the most part, it was just the history of magic - and only demon magic, not even touching on other kinds. Allen could feel her eyes rolling into the back of her head while she watched something akin to Rin's brain leak out of his ears.

"The term 'grimoire' refers to certain texts created from the 15th to 16th centuries, which deal with magic involving the summoning and subsequent enslavement of demons. Today, we're going to be looking at _The Key of Solomon_ and _The Book of Raziel_."

Allen let out a soft huff, glancing over her shoulder at Suguro. He was still sending a glare in Allen and Rin's direction.

' _ **No helping that, I suppose.'**_

' _No, I guess not. He's irritating though.'_

* * *

 _Demon Pharmacology_

Allen was able to stay alert for the most part, and Rin did too. It was still a bit of a struggle not to beat her brother over the head, though.

"Today, I'm passing back tests," Yukio said. "Come up and grab yours as I call your name."

"I'm sure I've done okay on this one!" Shiemi said, turning to Rin. "It's my specialty after all!"

"With how you make up names for the plants, I wouldn't be so sure," Lavi said.

"I'm sure she did _fine_ ," Allen said, flicking Lavi's forehead.

"Moriyama-san," Yukio called. Shiemi shot out of her chair and half-ran, half-stumbled towards the front of the room. Allen didn't listen as Yukio gave Shiemi some pointers and tips.

Shiemi walked back sadly, a 41 on her paper. She pouted as she showed it to the group.

"Your _specialty_?!" Rin exclaimed, laughing.

"What did I say?" Lavi said, shrugging.

"She did fine, you guys are just mean," Allen said, glaring at the two. "It's okay, Shiemi-san. You'll get it soon."

"Walker-san," Yukio said.

"Right," Allen said. She walked over nonchalantly and grabbed her paper. "Eighty-four. Not bad considering I stayed up really late the night before."

Yukio gave her a condescending look as if to tell her to stop doing that. Allen waved him off before returning to her seat. Lavi ended up with a 100 - no surprise there.

"Okumura-kun," Yukio called. Rin excitedly bolted up there and took the paper.

"Alright! Not bad!" Rin exclaimed happily, fist pumping. He got a 32. "Guess Allen's tutoring is really paying off."

"Be glad sh- he actually puts up with you enough to do so," Yukio said in a deadpan. Lavi caught Allen's gaze at the almost slip-up, but Allen shook her head. It wasn't the time for questions.

Rin, oblivious to the silent conversation, stuck his tongue out at Yukio before going back to his seat and proudly showing off his score.

"Hmm, looks like there are still some things I need to go over with you," Allen said, taking the paper and circling some of the questions in blue pen.

"Suguro-kun."

Suguro stood from his seat, glaring at Rin as he passed. Rin glared right back. Allen could feel more than hear the growl rising in Rin's chest.

"Thirty-two percent?" Suguro said antagonistically. "I couldn't get that bad of a score if I tried. Try studying instead of trying and failing to act cool for the girls. You make me sick!"

"The fuck did you just say?" Rin said, his growl rising. Allen tensed at the atmosphere. She felt Lavi freeze, too, and was pretty sure Lenalee and Kanda did as well.

Suguro continued on his way. He grabbed his paper, Yukio complimented him, then he returned to lord his 98 percent over Rin's 32.

Rin stood abruptly, slamming his hands down on the table. "What? So you actually got a brain behind a face like that? The fuck does that have to do with me?!"

"The hell was that?!" Suguro responded with just as much intensity. Allen could tell this would go downhill. Fast.

"I _said_ , you have a face that doesn't match your grades!" Rin shouted.

"Listen here! Do you wanna know why I come to these classes?!" Suguro asked. "It's to do some serious studying and earn the right to be called an exorcist! It ain't just me; everyone is here because they're serious about becoming exorcists, right?! Half-assed punks like you should just get the hell out!"

"Oh boy," Allen said, rising from her seat.

"What gives you any right to say that, asshole?!" Rin said, growl evident in his voice now. "I'm working towards being an exorcist just like the rest of y-!"

Rin was cut off by Allen pressing two fingers into a pressure point on his jugular. She was doing the same to Suguro.

"For fuck's sake you two!" Allen exclaimed. "You're acting like spoiled children!" She looked at Suguro. "I get it that you have your reasons of being here, but taking out stress or anger or irritation or whatever on Rin is _not_ going to help anyone." She turned to Rin. "And you! Don't egg him on! Haven't I taught you that it's better to ignore the assholes?"

"Yes, Allen!" Rin said, gasping in pain. "I promise I'll ignore him, just let me go!"

Allen pulled her fingers away from Rin's neck, eyes focused on Suguro. She put more pressure into the point. "What about you?"

"Agh! Fine. Fine!" Suguro said. "I yield, I yield!"

"Good," Allen said, releasing him. She let out a breath before looking back to Yukio. "Feel free to continue with the lesson, sensei."

"R-right," Yukio said, doing well to remain impassive to the situation. Allen dragged Rin back to their seats, shrugging at anyone who sent questioning looks or glances.

' _ **You scare me sometimes.'**_

' _It's what I'm good at.'_

' _ **That's not a good thing.'**_

' _That's debatable.'_

* * *

"So who was that guy?" Rin asked during their break. Lavi, Shiemi, Yukio, and Allen were sitting with him at the fountain.

"His name his Suguro, Ryuji," Allen said. "He's from Kyoto."

"He's also here on a scholarship, like me - or like Allen _could_ be if sh- he cared enough," Yukio said. Allen sent him a look that clearly said, ' _Two slip-ups in one day? What's up?'_

Yukio shrugged before continuing his explanation about Suguro. "He's a prodigy, and is seemingly irritated by your… incompetence."

"I mean, at least I'm trying a little bit?" Rin offered weakly.

"I suppose," Yukio said. "Anyway, I have to head out. I have a class to prepare for. You four feel free to stay here."

After Yukio left, there was silence. It was a little awkward between Shiemi and Rin, but Lavi had a way of making Allen feel comfortable.

"Psst, Allen!" Lavi whispered. "We need to talk."

"I know, but not here, and not now," Allen replied.

"Not about that," Lavi said, shaking his head. He gestured across the courtyard. "I meant about Lenalee and Yuu."

Allen followed his hand wave and saw the two people in question. She shrugged. "Why not go talk to them. Lenalee is still relatively nice, and Kanda is his usual grumpy self."

"I mean, we might as well," Lavi said with a slight sigh. He took Allen's hand and the two jumped down from the fountain. "Shiemi, Allen and I are gonna go for a bit. We'll be back."

Allen knew Rin saw the hand holding. She also knew Rin was now going to glare at Lavi for a while. There was no helping it, so she just submitted to it with a shrug.

Shiemi nodded to her brother and Allen and Lavi made their way to Lenalee and Kanda.

"Lenalee!" Allen called, waving the two over. They exchanged glances before calmly approaching.

"Good afternoon, Walker-san, Lavi-san," Lenalee said, smiling. "How are you?"

"Let's drop the formalities, Lena," Kanda said. "It's obvious that they remember. Or at least have fragments of their memories."

Allen nodded, pulling her hand from Lavi's to cross her arms. "I gained some of mine about a month ago."

"Three years ago," Lenalee said. "For both me and Kanda."

"A year and a half," Lavi said. "So Allen-chan remembers the least."

"I've been meaning to ask about something," Lenalee said. "Are you still a girl?"

"Yup," Allen said, shrugging disdainfully. "My brothers - Yukio and Rin - have a separate dormitory for specific and classified reasons. It's a boys' dorm, so I need to at least pretend to be a guy at school so that it's not suspicious as to why a girl is sleeping in an old boys' dorm."

"Makes sense," Kanda said. "Family here?"

"Shiemi is my sister," Lavi said.

"Yukio and Rin are my brothers, the paladin, Shiro, is my father," Allen said.

"Sounds like _so_ much fun," Lavi said, rolling his eyes.

"It really does," Kanda said in a deadpan tone.

"Kanda and I were raised alongside Bon, Koneko, and Renzo," Lenalee said. "You know them, right?"

"Suguro, Miwa, and Shima," Lavi and Allen said. Lenalee smiled and opened her mouth, but was interrupted by shouting and laughing from over by the fountain.

"Not again," Allen groaned, rubbing her temples.

"I say let them fight amongst themselves," Kanda said. "It's not even friendly bickering. That's just trying to kill each other."

"That's what I'm worried about," Lenalee chuckled nervously, sweatdropping.

' _ **Where's the popcorn?'**_

* * *

 _Practical Athletics_

Allen watched Rin and Suguro run around the lower level of the room being chased by the Leaper. She let out a suffering sigh as Rin picked up the pace - he wasn't going very fast for him, though - and Suguro decided to drop kick him in the back. Rin let out a cry of pain and Allen could see tears forming in his eyes. No doubt because his tail was just kicked. She winced as he flew across the room.

Allen ignored Suguro's nonsense and Rin's irritated retort. She impassively watched as the two got into a brawl, Rin coming out at the winner with the trophy of Suguro's earring - with a piece of his ear still embedded in it.

"Suguro, Okumura!" The teacher shouted. "This is a training exercise, not a race."

"They're both acting like children again," Allen muttered.

"Guess there's no helping it, huh?" Lenalee said, an exasperated expression on her face.

"Wow, they're huge idiots," Timothy said - he was pulled into their little group, but Allen had asked a few questions to confirm that, no, he doesn't have his memories.

"You said it, Hearst," Lavi sighed. Kanda let out a grunt of agreement.

"Ah, shit," Allen said, pushing herself forward to slide down the slope. She got to her feet as she reached the bottom, then ran over to Rin. She grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him away.

"You have some serious issues, dude!" Surugo exclaimed, holding a hand over his bleeding ear while he was dragged away by Shima and Miwa.

"I'm sorry about this, sensei," Lenalee said as she and Kanda joined the group. She helped Suguro out of Shima and Miwa's hold.

"I told you not to fuck with me," Rin growled as Allen let him go. He spat the earing to the ground.

"Tch, whatever," Suguro said.

"Suguro-kun, come with me please," the teacher called. Suguro nodded, then followed the teacher away from the group.

"What's with that guy?" Rin said, gritting his teeth.

"You'll have to forgive Ryuji," Lenalee said.

"Yeah, he takes everything seriously," Shima said, shrugging. "He can get really worked up over anything. He joined this place with a crazy ambition."

"He wants to get strong enough to defeat Satan," Kanda said. Rin's hand twitched and his expression twisted up.

"Crazy, right?" Shima said while laughing.

"Shima-san, don't laugh!" Miwa said.

"By the way, what are your names?" Rin said. "I know your last names - Shima, Miwa, Lee, and Kanda - but what are your first names?"

"Ah, I'm Lee Lenalee," Lenalee said. "That's Kanda Yuu, Shima Renzo, and Miwa Konekomaru."

"Okumura Rin and Walker Allen, right?" Shima said. "Nice to properly meet you. Even if the circumstances are not as ideal."

"Names aside, we apologize again," Miwa said. "Bon is doing all he can to rebuild our temple since it was destroyed during the Blue Night."

"Blue Night? What's that?" Rin asked.

Allen facepalmed, sighing at her own stupidity. She had forgotten to explain that. "Okay, the Blue Night refers to a day, sixteen years ago. Satan murdered a large number of priests, exorcists, and clergymen."

Kanda tch'd. "Our temple was one of the places hit by it. Those two are apprentices of Suguro's dad, the temple's 'Ossama.' I don't know much about it, but from what the Ossama told us, all of our temple's powerful exorcists, including the previous Ossama, started bleeding from all of their orifices. They were consumed by blue flames as they died - one after the other."

' _ **Blue flames…'**_

' _Neah? Is something wrong?'_

' _ **It's nothing to concern yourself with. I just have a bad feeling.'**_

' _... If you're sure.'_

"The current Ossama, who was just a monk-in-training back then, prayed through the whole thing," Lenalee continued, voice grim. "He sat in a corner. I'm actually a little surprised that he survived. Either way, our Ossama took over the temple, but people were freaked out by what had happened. We lost a lot of worshipers and pilgrims."

"Before long, the place was known as the 'cursed temple,'" Miwa finished. "This all happened before all of us were born."

 _Well, not all of us._ Allen side glanced Kanda and Lenalee but stayed silent. Rin was uncharacteristically quiet too.

Suguro had finished with the teacher and they had returned. The group was sent back up to the top of the wall. Then the instructor's phone rang. He answered it, seemingly excited. Before rushing out, he gave the class orders to stay away from the Leaper until he came back.

"Is that even allowed?" Shima muttered. There was quiet for a few seconds.

"What the fuck was that?!" Suguro exclaimed. "He calls himself a teacher?! I thought True Cross Academy was supposed to be a sacred place of learning! Don't even get me started on the students!"

"Suguro," Lenalee said. It was her serious voice. Suguro let out a huff, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"What was that? You sure are running your mouth off today!" Rin retorted. "What makes you say I don't take this stuff seriously, huh?!"

"The way you act in class!" Suguro said, his anger rekindled. "Sleeping all the time, not being able to get above an F on any tests. It's pathetic."

Allen's left hand twitched at that. She shifted her gaze downward. There was so much she wanted to explain to Suguro - to all of them. She looked towards Rin, who was fuming. It wasn't her place to tell them. She turned her eyes back to the ground.

"Why don't you prove that you're serious?!" Suguro said. "The Leaper. If you can touch it and come back without getting attacked, then you win. If you're able to stay calm, then you can do it. If you're planning on becoming an exorcist, then you shouldn't get scared over something like this, right?"

"Ryuji, don't," Lenalee said, putting a hand on Suguro's arm. He shook her off.

"Of course, I'll do it, too, and I'll win," Suguro continued. "If you make it back without being attacked, then I'll respect that you've got some proper resolve! So how about it? You in or not?!"

"Sound pretty interesting," Rin said, smirking. "Still, I'm not gonna do it."

"What?!" Suguro exclaimed.

"He's right in not doing it, idiot," Kanda said, flicking the side of Suguro's head. "What if you screw up and get yourself killed? Just because you have us here to protect you doesn't mean you can do random shit."

"I have ambitions too," Rin said, looking away. "I can't risk my life and do stupid shit like that."

Suguro turned on Shima and Miwa. "You told him didn't you?" Before they could respond, he turned back to Rin. "Ambition my ass! You're just scared! That's all, ain't it?!"

Allen's head shot up, and she flinched backward. She moved towards Rin, putting a hand on his shoulder. He gave her a small smile, which she returned. Both looked back to Suguro as he began to speak again.

"Why don't you fight?" Suguro asked. "Aren't you bitter at all?!" He didn't wait around for an answer. He started to slide down the sloped wall. "Well, I'm gonna do it! So just stand there and watch!"

"Suguro!"

"Bon!"

"He really is a moron."

"Hey, don't!"

"You shouldn't..!"

"Is he serious?"

"He'll just end up backing off."

"Honestly…"

' _ **Allen, get ready to do something.'**_

' _Yeah, I know.'_

"I'm gonna defeat Satan!" Suguro yelled as he approached the leaper.

Kamiki started laughing. "Did he just say that he'll defeat Satan? What is he, a kid?!"

Several things happened in the next few seconds.

Suguro lost his nerve. The Leaper jumped at him. Three pieces of Innocence activated - Lavi tried but it wouldn't happen - and there was Kanda's shout of, "Lenalee, Moyashi, now!"

It was followed by Allen launching herself into the arena, Rin next to her. Lenalee grabbed Kanda before jumping down as well. Allen wrapped Crowned Clown around Suguro and pulled him back. Kanda took a defensive position in front of him. Lenalee was next to Suguro - who had fallen to the ground - to make sure he was uninjured. Rin was halfway into the mouth of the Leaper.

A moment passed and the Leaper pulled away from Rin. He looked over his shoulder to glare at Suguro. "What are you doing? Are you _that_ stupid?! Are you listening? 'Cause the one who'll defeat Satan is me, and if we're going to have the same goal, then that means we're rivals. So I don't want you going half-assed, you got that?"

It wasn't shouted like Rin normally would, and Allen finally understood. She smiled gently. "So that's why."

Kanda deactivated his innocence, then Lenalee and Allen followed. Lenalee helped Suguro to his feet, then went on to scold him. Kanda also had a few choice words, but it was basically what Rin had just said.

Allen walked over to Rin. "I'm sorry for keeping secrets from you. I'm realizing now that if we had just told you, it would have made a huge difference. Maybe Shiro wouldn't be in a coma right now if we had."

"It's fine, don't beat yourself up over it," Rin grinned, patting Allen's back rather fiercely.

"Let's get out of the arena before sensei comes back," Lenalee said. Allen nodded, then they returned to the wall.

* * *

The next day, Rin was found studying before class started. Suguro approached him to apologize and thank Rin and Allen. He also gave Rin a hair clip to keep his fringe out of the way.

Allen laughed at Rin's "so creepy" comment, then at Suguro's response. Well, she _was_ laughing, before something pulled at her chest. She stopped herself from doubling over, but Lavi noticed.

"Everything okay?" Lavi asked quietly.

"I- I think so," Allen said. The feeling was gone as soon as it had come.

' _Neah, what was that?'_

' _ **I'm not sure. I'll have to get back to you on that.'**_

* * *

"Tyki, is this the right place?"

"You're asking the wrong person. Wisely?"

"Yes, Road. this is the place."

The three Noah, in their human disguises, looked up at the large building in front of them.

"True Cross Academy."

"This'll be fun!"


End file.
